I would love to float in clear skies, serene, carefree, and untethered from life's difficulties. However, the problems of this world often weigh me down. This quote challenged me, "It is a sign of weakness to always worry and fret, question everything, and mistrust everyone. Can anything be gained by it? Don't we only make ourselves unfit for action, and separate our minds from the ability to make wise decisions? We simply sink in our struggles when we could float by faith." Lettie Cowman Doesn't floating by faith sound wonderful? Yet, how do we float by faith in a world filled with anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, health issues, negative news reports, unending distractions, and other life issues? Join me as we explore ways to be fueled by God's joyful peace and empowered with His power to Float by Faith through the obstacles and storms of life.

We are taught to study, to learn, and to let ourselves grow Jewishly. But where does being the "people of the book" get us in the real world? David Wolpe's collection of essays responds to this question by exploring how Jewish values, such as scholarship and compassion, together with Jewish practice, enhance an individual's private and public life. How does Shabbat help deflect us from the pressures of the societal rat-race? How can Jewish learning subdue political unrest? Rabbi Wolpe draws the lessons of this collection from a variety of religious and historical sources, finding the importance of Israel in a Robert Frost poem, the nature of God in the words of Beowulf, and parenting lessons in the fatherly techniques of King David. The essays address diverse topics ranging from assimilation to Zionism to Jewish concepts of life and death. Rabbi Wolpe asks the questions, sometimes profound, sometimes light-hearted, that challenge us to consider how we live as Jews, how our Jewish lives are influenced by our secular surroundings, and how we can develop our Jewish souls by continuing to learn from new sources while remaining open to spiritual growth. Some of these questions include: Is it wrong to admire Kant, Voltaire, and Roald Dahl if they were anti-Semitic? How can we reconcile our American family traditions with our Jewish family traditions? In an evolutionary debate, do God and Steven Pinker stand behind opposite podiums? Do we need such a thing as a Jewish home? A Jewish homeland? Why does Walt Whitman think we should stay awake during the rabbi's sermon? What lessons of aging gracefully can we learn from Rabbi Akiba and Grandma Moses? An ideal gift for teachers, Confirmation students, grads, and new families that join the congregation.

December 12, 1995 is the day that changed my life forever. That is the day my husband, Jim, and I received the news that he had terminal cancer. We were totally unprepared for this and unprepared for the months that lay aheadmonths of waiting, of hope and hopelessness, of surrender, and of seemingly endless decisions. How to Float When Youre About to Sink takes you on a journey through vignettes from specific days and events. Moreover, it shows how anguish and despair can turn into unruffled faith. It is a heart-wrenching and soul-searching story of life and death, written to offer inspiration for others to surrender their strength to God to resolve the mysteries of life. Its now 2013; many miracles continue, and writing this book is my miracle! This is knowledge that is necessary and more relevant today, eighteen years later, with the healthcare crisis we are experiencing to help and support the patient, caregiver, family, or anyone who is facing a life threatening health challenge. I pray our story allows others to find hope and celebrate each day as the precious gift that it is with those they love.

Will It Float? is a journey through the story of Noah and the Ark to glean an understanding of how we need to be the ark of the church. Through prism implications and plank applications, the reader is able to discover the spiritual ideas in the biblical flood narrative and then make practical applications in the building of the church. Through the efforts of the one God called and the journey that he was sent on, we see how God can move His people for His glory. The realization then becomes that we live in the full spectrum of God's righteousness and love.

A giftable collection of inspiring, uplifting, and enlightening words of wisdom from one of the most important voices in spirituality and self-help "The perfect guide for a course correction in life." —Deepak Chopra Here is an indispensible treasury of uplifting and enlightening quotations for guidance, support, and spiritual sustenance. In his classic works of philosophy, Alan Watts shared timeless wisdom with readers worldwide. In this book are some of his most thought-provoking words to live by, to reflect upon, and to read for inspiration, knowledge, and growth.

Faith Allen went to live with her aunt and uncle in the Kentucky mountains after her parents died. They hadn’t been cruel, but they hadn’t been loving and kind either; and they expected her to work hard. When their son strikes it rich in the California gold rush, they pack up to head to California via the Oregon Trail. Astonished at the attention Lucille Staten, the most sought-after woman around and beautiful beyond description, is giving him at the ball, Jacob Parker agrees to retrieve her wrap from her bedroom, although he knew he shouldn’t go there. When she follows and they’re caught, he’s forced to marry her. However, he still has hopes for a happy future together as he and her father make plans for the young couple to head west on the Oregon Trail. The trail holds many more dangers than either Faith or Jacob imagined, and tragic circumstances throw them together. Can Jacob accept his second chance for love and a family and can Faith move past her marriage of convenience that crushed childhood fantasies? Even more pressing, will they survive the mounting hardships to have a future?

"The Jesuit review of faith and culture," Nov. 13, 2017-