As a thirty-seven-year-old, highly skeptical, deeply rational woman, Joan had it all: loving family, extravagant home, a high-profile career, even personal contentment. So Joan was more surprised than anyone when she was relieved in an instant from the luxury of spiritual doubt and compelled to realign her life around practices of faith--about which she was a novice. With an unexplainable desire to pursue whatever God had for her at whatever cost was called for, Joan left her high-salary profession, sold her home and all her furniture (with her husband’s support), and started life from a blank slate. Finally realizing that she had been flirting with faith since she was a young teen, Joan fell in love with the God who had been pursuing her. Joan candidly shares the story of her radical life change as she moved from atheist, to agnostic in addiction recovery, to the unexpected moment when she was “struck” Christian. As Joan lets go of control and convention, her skepticism is gradually replaced with a realization that embracing her new faith with radical abandon led to a far more mysterious and countercultural lifestyle than she’d ever imagined.

This is the true story of Karen Sloan's breathlessly confusing and ultimately fulfilling year in the company of a Dominican novitiate. Flirting with Monasticism is a courtship of sorts: a young would-be pastor learning ancient prayers and practices from young would-be priests. As you enter into this story you'll gain a fresh appreciation for the many ways we pray, worship and serve, and a deeper understanding of our unfolding relationship with God and the people of God. This is a story of loving and letting go, of moving through novice dreams to a greater vision. Flirting with Monasticism gives us a new appreciation for how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Market/Audience Emergent church Young adults Features and Benefits Narrative exploration of monasticism. Appreciation and critique of Dominican spirituality from a young, emergent, Protestant minister. A woman's take on monasticism.

“Ben shows that the black keys of wistfulness and sorrow can make music every bit as beautiful as the white keys. These pages will train your ears to hear heaven’s music once again.” —Jeremy Camp, Gold-charting singer and subject of the movie I Still Believe “With depth and clarity, Ben draws on his personal experience to offer you the practical tools and the courage you need to retaliate against the weight of darkness and walk forward in freedom.” —Levi Lusko, pastor and bestselling author Ben Courson’s mission is to inject hope into a generation plagued by anxiety and despair. In this follow up to Optimisfits, he shares his own battles with depression, PTSD, and personal tragedy—and how that turmoil came to fuel his unabashed optimism and unshakable confidence in God’s ability to heal. In Flirting with Darkness, Ben encourages you to not accept depression as a permanent state, but instead turn to the One who will champion your every struggle. He offers up the tools that helped him cling to God during his darkest moments, helping you discover how… prayer can transform your spirit and turn your pain into joy shifting your focus from your problems to God’s promises allows you to recognize your purpose finding a tribe in friends and family will help you move beyond loneliness counseling and medication can be important parts of God’s plan for your deliverance from mental illness If you feel weighed down by despair, the childlike wonder and biblical insights in Flirting with Darkness will help you glimpse beyond your current pain to see the light in your own story.

From popular Christian voices Lisa Jacobson and Phylicia Masonheimer, The Flirtation Experiment inspires you to strengthen your marriage with a fun, unexpected approach that leads to the depth, richness, and closeness you desire. Romance novels, Hallmark movies . . . the immense demand for romantic stories reveals a deep, unsatisfied longing that can be found in many marriages, but does it have to be that way? Is it possible that the best marriage has to offer can grow, rather than fade after you say “I do”? Lisa and Phylicia say, “Absolutely yes!” So what is the secret to a happy, thriving, loving marriage, where the fire of romance and close friendship do not fade? While The Flirtation Experiment includes the frisky side of marriage, it’s far more than a good romp. By degrees, each chapter takes you to a deeper place, covering themes every beautiful marriage has in common, such as covenant, healing, and hope. After reading The Flirtation Experiment, wives will be filled with hope and encouragement for how they can make a powerful, positive change in their marriages, become empowered to pursue their husbands romantically, understand the Bible invites women to be proactive in their marriages, be motivated to consistently love in creative ways, and forge closeness and intimacy in their marriages. “Intentional flirting keeps a positive lightness in the atmosphere and improves our overall communication,” says Jacobson. “My light flirtations bring us closer in meaningful ways and lead to connection on a deeper level. It helps us discover true romance waiting for us in everyday situations.” Perfect for the wife who wants romance, passion, and the closeness that only comes from a deep heart connection but isn’t sure where to start, The Flirtation Experiment is a candid, real-life record of two Christian women from different seasons of life who discovered they could make a significant impact on their marriage relationships, one small flirtatious experiment at a time. Readers can go deeper by using The Flirtation Experiment Workbook.

"I dare anyone to read this book without a ginormous grin on their faces. Warmth, humor and enchantments burst off the page, and the colorful characters of the Granados family crackle to life with Cervantes's signature wit, aching empathy and enviable flair for whimsy." —Roshani Chokshi, NYT bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves trilogy. Jane the Virgin meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes's charming, romantic YA debut. Ava Granados will never forgive herself for being late to her beloved nana’s deathbed. But due to a flash flood that left Ava in a fender bender with a mysterious boy, she missed her grandmother’s mystical blessing—one that has been passed between the women of her family upon death for generations. Then Nana’s ghost appears with a challenge from beyond the grave. As it turns out, Nana did give Ava a blessing, but it missed its target, landing with the boy from the night of the storm instead. Was it fate? Ava refuses to believe so. With the help of her sisters and Nana’s rather bumbling spiritual guide, she’s determined to reclaim her share of the family magic and set Nana free. For guarded Ava, befriending some random boy is the last thing she wants to do. She’s gotten along just fine protecting her heart—keeping people at a distance is a great way to ensure no one ever hurts you. But as Ava embarks on her mission to retrieve the lost blessing, she starts to wonder if getting close to thunderstorm boy is worth the risk. In her swoony, heartwarming young adult debut, New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes weaves an unforgettable tale about family, fate, and finding love where you least expect it.

What's the point of being a Christian anymore? Many Christians today are feeling unfulfilled in their walk with God, and they have no idea it's because of the little decisions they're making each day that are leading them into lives of compromise. In Navigate Your Faith Ron Pratt uses a fictional American family to expose how the enemy lures believers into prioritizing their own pleasure, entertainment, or career goals over their relationship with Christ. This erodes their passion for Jesus and causes them to become spiritually bored and have powerless Christian lives. Rather than claiming that God will approve of Christians no matter what they do, as some modern ministers do, Navigate Your Faith challenges readers to take a hard look at their lives and see if they're simply incorporating Jesus into their lifestyles or allowing Him to set them on a course of His choosing. With proven strategies to rebuild lost intimacy with God, this book will help Christians recognize the deceptive tactics of the enemy, break out of complacency, and make a greater impact on the world around them. This book will help you recognize and avoid the deception of today's nominal Christian culture.

"A warm romance that bursts with realism and celebrates the symbiotic power of love and healing.”―Entertainment Weekly #1 LibraryReads Pick Indie Next Pick One daring to-do list and a crash course in flirtation turn a Type A overachiever’s world upside down. When her flailing department lands on the university's chopping block, Professor Naya Turner’s friends convince her to shed her frumpy cardigan for an evening on the town. For one night her focus will stray from her demanding job and she’ll tackle a new kind of to-do list. When she meets a charming stranger in town on business, he presents the perfect opportunity to check off the items on her list. Let the guy buy her a drink. Check. Try something new. Check. A no-strings-attached hookup. Check…almost. Jake makes her laugh and challenges Naya to rebuild her confidence, which was left toppled by her abusive ex-boyfriend. Soon she’s flirting with the chance at a more serious romantic relationship—except nothing can be that easy. The complicated strings around her dating Jake might destroy her career. Naya has two options. She can protect her professional reputation and return to her old life or she can flirt with the unknown and stay with the person who makes her feel like she's finally living again.

Pitch the Christian dating rulebook out the window. There’s a better way! No matter what you might have heard, God didn’t mandate a divine way to date. What He did do, in the Bible, is lay out principles for wise and healthy relational living among believers. His boundaries for us are wise and good. But exactly how you apply God’s principles to your dating life is up to you to figure out. All you need is guidance, not micromanagement. How Should a Christian Date? doesn’t try to boss you around. It just offers wisdom about the relevant principles in God’s Word. Eric Demeter—a single guy who has given this subject a lot of thought—separates the truths of Scripture from the baggage of Christian dating subculture. He talks to you like a big brother or favorite uncle, not your mother. You’ll cover topics such as: Busting 12 Myths of Christian Dating How to Meet People & Have a Good First Date Clearing the Fog in Sex and Physical Affection Getting the Best from a Breakup Take Dating One Stage at a Time There isn’t one “Christian” way to date. But there are ways that Christians should handle themselves while dating . . . and those are the truths to live by.

Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.

Argues that one can retain their faith, even when distancing oneself from the traditional methods of worship through the organized church, and helps readers identify six life-tested passages that lead through changes in faith towards authentic renewal.