An encouraging look at the story of Naomi and Ruth that reminds readers to keep pressing forward in spite of the weight of their cares.

Forty years as a poet has kept Robert Cording looking at the details of everyday experience. That long labor has brought him face-to-face with the inescapable complexity of a world that is full of suffering and injustice. And grace. This journey has convinced him that, as Czeslaw Milosz puts it, "poetry embodies the double life of our common human circumstance as beings in between the dust that we are and the divinity to which we would aspire." Cording's task has therefore been to evoke what he calls "the primordial intuitions of Christianity": that we live in a world we did not create; that God's immanent presence is capable of breaking in on us at every moment; that most of the time we cannot "taste and see" that presence because we live in a world of mirrors; that only by attention can we live in the world but outside of our existing conceptions of it. The reflections in Finding the World's Fullness--comprising not only thoughts on metaphor but also close readings of poets ancient and modern, including George Herbert, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Bishop, and Stanley Kunitz--suggest that, as Richard Wilbur puts it, "The world's fullness is not made but found."

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). The Holy Spirit empowers us, guides us, and enables us to grow and endure in our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Often the most misunderstood member of the Trinity, the person of the Spirit continues to attract attention today amidst church revivals and renewals. In this new edition of his classic Keep in Step with the Spirit, J. I. Packer seeks to help Christians reaffirm the biblical call to holiness and the Spirit s role in keeping our covenant with God. Packer guides us through the riches and depth of the Spirit s work, assesses versions of holiness and the charismatic life, and shows how Christ must always be at the centre of true Spirit-led ministry. A new chapter explores Christian assurance. With abiding relevance and significance, Keep in Step with the Spirit sets forth vital knowledge for healthy and joyous Christian living, through understanding and experience of God the Holy Spirit. Here is a book for every serious believer to read and re-read.

When an American family visits a marvelous mud house in Kenya, they learn a wonderful lesson about true contentment, faith, and joy.

The Confessions of St. Augustine, Villanova Edition for Students and Faculty e-book is a multi-modal resource designed to supplement deeper reading with highlighting and notation and to engage students through audio, visual, and critical analysis. It includes standard features, such as highlighting, search, and notation, as well as custom elements, like a timeline, map, and art gallery. The audio reader enhances the reading experience, and critical commentaries, written by experts especially for this edition, aid student comprehension of key sections and concepts of the text. The Confessions of Saint Augustine is considered to be the greatest Christian classic. Augustine's notorious life before his baptism raised questions about the genuineness of his conversion. It is his honest struggle with the faith which has given The Confessions such timeless appeal over the last sixteen centuries. Augustine's Confessions is more than mere autobiography, for it is also an impassioned admission of past mistakes (confession at a level most might think of it) and praise of God (confession of another sort, that of love and awe). Given his checkered past, Augustine addressed the concerns of those who doubted the sincerity of his conversion to Christianity and his claim to the post of bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa. Thus, the text, made up of 13 chapters called ”books,“ serves as an apologia (formal written defense) as well as a hortatory inspiration to others who have not yet converted. Influenced by the Christian approach to reading sacred text as the living Word of God (lectio divina), The Confessions also require a deeper reading than readers may be accustomed to. Lectio divina, rooted in monastic practices of the 4th century AD, is prayerful and approaches a text with a fourfold reading process: read, reflect/meditate, pray and rest in God's presence, and resolve to grow and change in this new understanding. Augustine's great work has impacted not only theology but also philosophy, especially in discussion of time and memory.

Are you suffering from emotional difficulties such as depression, anxiety, fear, or excessive stress? Do you struggle with worrying about the future or with reliving past emotional trauma? Or do you regularly experience discontentment, frustration, disappointment, or dissatisfaction with life? Embark on a journey of transformation from darkness and difficulty to blissful joy. The Joy of Living aims to resolve all emotional struggles, whether mild or severe. It addresses internal suffering at every level, from the deep suffering of depression to the more common yet often undetected suffering of inner agitation. This book can bring you from your current emotional state-whether that is one of depression, anxiety, discouragement, sadness, stress, disappointment, or simply dissatisfaction with life-to a state of pure, deep, ecstatic joy in daily life! It brings you step by step along a journey of emotional healing, personal growth, and enlightenment of the soul. It explores the inner workings of your consciousness and shows you the way to reconnect with your true self within. It's goal is to bring you to the full realization of inner freedom, peace, love, and joy! Of course, you must take the necessary actions in order for this inner transformation to occur. To that end, this book provides meditative exercises at the end of each chapter to guide you step by step along your journey and to help you progressively reconnect with your soul. Merlin Starlight's intuitive writing style and clear descriptions make it easy to understand the complexities of emotional well-being, consciousness, and the inner workings of your mind. He plainly shows you the path to how you can actually make significant changes on the inside-changes that will transform your life!

Jesus said not to be arrogant toward me, dont mock me, why do you hate me in your counsel (church)? I have been hated everywhere and loved everywhere. I am called life, but you call me death. I am the one that you despised, and yet you have professed me. Why do you curse me and honor me?? I am all-spiritual knowledge, truth, wisdom, eternal life (John 14:6), and all-understanding of all things. Only those that seek me (in John 4:24) in spirit and in truth and with an open mind, loving spirit, and a hungry soul for truth and only a heart of love will find me (Jesus). And I will give him or her all that he asks for. Hear and listen to my Fathers words (John 14:6, 17:17, and Eph. 5:26) that will give you eternal life. I have said to my disciples that after I, Jesus, and you are gone, Yaldabaoth (John 5:43, 8:44), called the father of error, will come as the angel/spirit/anunnaki of false light (2 Cor. 11:1315) and will teach so-called men of god words of a dead man (2 Tim 3:57). By doing verse 13 and doing verses 4:24, which is 1 Tim. 4:12, these are the men that Jesus warned us about in Matt. 7:1523. People will accept these teachings all because they think (Prov. 3:57) that they are pure and holy because they go to a building that the god with no name (the Fullness = Jesus) will never go into (Acts 7:48 and 17:2425). Singing a song or two, giving a buck or two, and saying that Jesus is my lord (Yaldabaoth and Savior = Jesus; Matt. 6:24), believing that they are safe from the fabled hell (2 Tim. 4:24). Everything in this book is and was taught as truth, which was authority (33 AD to 400 AD). After the Bible (400 AD) till now, all authority became truth. This book is for all those that are looking for eternal life in the Fathers kingdom (John 3:35). This book is for all humanity, no matter what religion you are, the temple or church you go to, or the denomination that you belong to.

Aidan Blackstone has nothing. A thousand miles from home, sent to the frontier by a family that doesn’t want her back, her only hope for survival is distant relatives who say they’ll take her in. As all familiar civilization fades into the distance, she is nineteen, unmarried and pregnant, and has no reason to think that the year 1876 won’t be her last. But she’s not met at the Washburn, Kansas, train station by the Bodett family. Only the daughter, Jocelyn, is there to greet her. Aidan finds herself bound for the Bodett farm, where influenza has wiped out the rest of the family, leaving young Joss in perilous financial straits and their only source of food and shelter at risk. Joss, in her brother’s clothes and severely lacking in social graces, has no time to mollycoddle a pampered, pregnant New England lady. It’s work or starve, literally. There are no servants, no laborers—just a failing farm, impending winter and the two of them to face it together. The Grass Widow showcases the ingenuity, determination and courage of women’s frontier spirits in a passionate, sensuous love story. Originally published in 1996, Nanci Little’s wonderfully detailed and researched novel picks up with the generation of women where Patience and Sarah left off. Originally published by Madwoman Press 1996.

New York Times bestseller What is Jesus worth to you? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... But who do you know who lives like that? Do you? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates “Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —Melinda Gates "Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. --- “This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance...Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.