An empowering antidote to one of the leading challenges facing clergy and lay ministers today: burnout. Clergy and lay ministry professionals are exhausted. The past few years of collegial loneliness, ever-changing ministry practices, illness and death, and declining church attendance have led many to report finding less joy in their ministry. Suffering the effects of burnout and declining mental health, some clergy are contemplating a radical vocational change, or have already left traditional ministry altogether. From Weary to Wholehearted isn’t a quick fix, but a much-needed companion to remind faith leaders they are not alone, support them through sustainable tools for finding joy and rest, and re-ground them in spiritual nourishment. Swanlund calls readers to show up with their whole heart, vulnerably and courageously. Each section will address a source of weariness, including overwhelm, loneliness, comparison, lack of inspiration, and more. The book incorporates research in the fields of sociology and psychology, as well as Swanlund’s experience as a faith leader, spiritual companion, and Certified Daring Way facilitator. The chapters will contain scripture, personal meditation, reflection prompts, an invitation toward flourishing, and an original prayer. Drawing upon the rhythm of the liturgical calendar, From Weary to Wholehearted begins with the spiritual themes of justice and anticipation in Advent and moves through the sustainable practices invited by Ordinary Time. While not expressly a homiletic or liturgical resource, it will infuse new life into the ministry of emotionally impoverished preachers and lay leaders.

I'm being pulled in a thousand different directions. As a therapist, Chuck DeGroat hears that line all the time. "I hear it from students and software developers," he says. "I hear it from spiritual leaders and coffee baristas. And I hear it from my own inner self." We all feel that nasty pull to and fro, the frantic busyness that exhausts us and threatens to undo us. And we all think we know the solution -- more downtime, more relaxation, more rest. And we're all wrong. As DeGroat himself has discovered, the real solution to what pulls us apart is wholeheartedness, a way of living and being that can transform us from the inside out. And that's what readers of this book will discover too.

"Rarely do I ever find myself agreeing with everything I read in a book. But Parenting the Wholehearted Child is the book I wish I'd written. Jeannie has given parents a profound gift within its pages." -- Kathie Lee Gifford, actress, singer, playwright, songwriter, and cohost of the Today Show's Fourth Hour Your kids aren't perfect. And you don't have to be either. Are you exhausted from the pressure to be a perfect parent raising perfect children in this imperfect world? Do you ever wonder, "How did these precious children get stuck with a parent like me?" If so, let these grace-drenched pages saturate your heart with God's unfailing love while also equipping you to be a vessel of God's unconditional love to your children. With authenticity, conviction, and a lively sense of humor, Jeannie guides you on a transformative journey into raising wholehearted--not perfect--children, who live from the freedom found in being wholeheartedly loved (and liked!) by God. Parenting the Wholehearted Child equips you with biblical wisdom and practical ideas to teach your children that they are fully accepted by God, not because of anything they do or don’t do but because of everything Jesus has already done for them. Woven throughout the book is the good news that it is God's extravagant grace--not your perfect performance--that transforms the hearts of children.

"Hope Cove: Book Two" Officer Declan Grant responds to a call at the Hope Cove docks to find Lucas Hale barely alive after being beaten and tossed off his fishing boat. The violent crime rocks this tranquil community where everyone knows each other and doors are rarely locked. Despite Declan being new to Hope Cove, he wants to keep his new home and Lucas safe. He starts by volunteering to care for Lucas after he s released from the hospital. Lucas just wants to put the whole incident behind him and move on, but the more he gets to know Declan, the harder he finds it to push Declan and his do-right attitude away. The investigation into the assault continues, but Declan will soon face a moral dilemma, a choice that may topple his tidy life and force him to choose between Lucas and the law.

Find Hope and Help for Trials and Testing When you realize there's nowhere to go but into the arms of Jesus, you're in good company. Stacey Thacker, author of Fresh Out of Amazing, knows what it's like to feel like quitting. She invites you to join her in exploring the refreshment awaiting every weary soul in the book of Hebrews. Through these pages, you will... understand how Jesus is the heart, help, and hope we need so you can endure through suffering learn how to take God at his word to overcome fear with faith examine stories of faithful followers so you can look forward with great hope When life is hard, your heart might ask, "Is Jesus worth it?" Come hear the responding yes ringing through every verse of Hebrews. * * * The Girlfriends' Guide to the Bible series offers fresh, friendly, and faith-renewing wisdom on specific books of the Bible—perfect for individuals and women's groups alike.

Reclaim your joy and thrive through the storms of life when you find your strength in God. The human soul has a built-in yearning for joy and beauty and all good things. But that craving for life is so easily lost in the pace and demands of modern life. Join New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge as he gives you the tools you need to follow Jesus' path of supernatural resilience. Between false promises of ease and comfort on one side and the sheer busyness and stress of daily life on the other, people today are facing a shortage of peace, happiness, and strength. In Resilient, Eldredge reveals a path toward genuine recovery and resilience through Jesus himself. Drawing on wisdom from Scripture and Christian tradition, and illustrated throughout with powerful, true stories of grit and survival, Resilient will help you: Tap into the river of life that God promises his people Learn to be patient with yourself--genuine recovery from spiritual and emotional trauma takes time and intentionality Create a plan to foster resilience in your day-to-day life Discover deep wells of freedom and strength through Christ who lives within us Thriving requires a resilient soul. This book will help you find the resilience you long for when the world has gone mad--and discover in Jesus himself the strength that prevails.

An inspiring book that will help readers rediscover their values and discover a way to truly live life to the fullest. Each of us has an enormous capacity for love—a deep well of attention and care that we can offer to ourselves and others. With guidance that is both simple and wholly transformative, Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher and psychotherapist, shows us how to uncover it: pay attention, be of service, and be with others. With this inspiring and down-to-earth book, drawn from the Zen precepts and illustrated with anecdotes from Koshin’s own life and practice, you’ll learn how to explore and investigate with your own core values, identify the mental habits that could be unconsciously hurting yourself and others, and overcome isolation. Each chapter closes with a contemplation to help integrate the teachings into your life. This book is about getting back in touch with your values, so you can live energetically, authentically, and lovingly. This an invitation to close the gaps we create between ourselves and others—to wake up to ourselves and the world around us. It’s time to live wholeheartedly.

Fire Your Boss is the disruptive alternative blueprint for charting a new life-giving career path that gives you control, allowing you to set your own rules for your work life. Provocative, liberating, and universally appealing, Fire Your Boss seeks to help readers resolve the deepest root of workplace unrest—namely, fear and self-preservation. This book upgrades readers’ core belief systems, demonstrates how to liberate their careers forever, and ultimately, join a heretical uprising without becoming an entrepreneur, changing jobs, or simply white-knuckling their way to retirement. Aaron McHugh maps out how to make philosophical, emotional, tactical, and heart-centered shifts at every intersection on the career journey. Firing your boss does not require you to leave to your job. Firing your boss does not require you to start a new business. Firing your boss becomes the life-altering daily mantra that transforms the disengaged into hopeful leaders. Discover how to plot a new course of career freedom and independence, empowerment, and self-reliance. Find your smile again, rekindle your mojo, recapture the art of your work, and start enjoying your work every single day.

Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with narcissistic personality disorder and those wounded by narcissistic leaders for over twenty years. Offering compassion and hope for both narcissists themselves and those affected by its destructive power, DeGroat imparts wise counsel for churches looking to heal from its systemic effects.

Swords and sorcery fill this fantasy about an outcast girl who teams up with a prince to break a supernatural curse that could destroy their warring kingdoms In the kingdom of Vashti, a shuntali is an outcast—an unperson. One day, a young warrior gallops into the city astride a magnificent blue stallion. He is Prince Kyrem of Deva, and he has come to Vashti on a mission of peace between the warring kingdoms. En route, he is attacked by brigands only to be rescued by a rag-tag stable boy who seems to have a way with horses. Kyrem names him Seda, unaware that the shuntali is really an orphaned girl who has disguised herself in order to survive. Now Seda, Kyrem—whose people possess mystical powers—and the peace-loving healer and magician King Auron of Vashti must join forces to save their nations from the Nameless One. But deep within a cave atop a steep mountain, the last of a vanished race gathers his demonic forces to unleash his revenge on the kingdoms bound together by the great horse-god Suth. A lonely girl with no past or future and a prince who wants to use his powers for good must find the love and magic to battle hatred and create a peace that has been a long time coming.