Make the Connection. The change you long for is just 18 inches away! Have you ever declared in frustration that your head knows what to do but your heart won't agree? The truth is, although the head and heart are only eighteen inches from each other, most of us spend our entire lives trying to make a genuine connection between what we profess to believe in our heads and what we actually believe in our hearts. We believe that God loves us, but our hearts still cling to lies from our past—lies from society, our families and friends, and the enemy of our souls. Don't allow these voices to keep you trapped any longer. “From Your Head to Your Heart” exposes how your negative thought patterns can keep you from the future God wants for you and reveals the secrets to achieve the long-term transformation desired by many, yet missed by most. With powerful examples from the Bible and redeeming stories from the author's own testimony involving abandonment, loneliness, rejection, and drug use, this book will give you the keys to access the power in God's Word. Begin the renewing journey from your head to your heart today.Forward written by Jim Cymbala with Endorsements from Bill Hybels, Chris Hodges, Nancy Alcorn and many more.“The heart and soul of the Christian life is learning to hear God's voice and then developing the courage to do what he asks us to do. “From Your Head to Your Heart” must be added to your life and library. If leaders aren't leading with their heads and hearts, the local church will never reach its full redemptive potential. Well done Maria Durso! This book will be a lifeline for so many people.” —Bill Hybels, Founding and Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church“With honesty, wisdom, and encouragement, Maria Durso helps readers draw closer to God as they seek to know him and not simple knot about Him. From Your Head to Your Heart offers biblical wisdom and practical suggestions for connecting your mind and your heart with your faith. I recommend it for anyone wanting to experience more of God's power in their lives.” —Chris Hodges, Pastor of Church of the Highlands“In my travels over the years in ministry I have seen many people who have a “head relationship” “with the Lord, but not a close personal “heart relationship” with Him. From Your Head to Your Heart explores the depths of having an intimate walk with Jesus that will transform every part of your life and bring about a whole new level of victory and freedom!” —Nancy Alcorn, Founder and President of Mercy Ministries

ARE YOU BRAIN WASHED? This question has always had a negative connotation, but within this Bible Study Guide you will learn the importance of having your brain washed! Life is full of experiences that are stored in our brains that are a filter for how we see ourselves, the world we live in, our relationship with others, and most importantly how we see God! Scientists have discovered that we actually have two brains: the brain in our heads (the cranial brain-learn and remember), and the brain in our hearts (sense and feel). According to research, the brain in the head is connected to the brain in the heart. The two brains send messages to each other through thousands of neurons and tiny filaments, but the messages don't necessarily coincide. The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that as a man "thinks in his heart," so is he. So, the truth in God's Word needs to work its way down (18 inches) from the brain in our head to the brain in our heart so that we can experience its life changing power. Included with the Bible Study Guide is a welcome video which you can view on MariaDurso.com. This study has been designed for individual use as well as applying it to a Small Group.Maria Durso is living proof that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Having come from a childhood devastated by loss and abuse she grew up to thinking she could mask her pain with drugs. Her lifestyle could have left her hopeless and alone-yet God kept and preserved Maria's life. Understanding firsthand the effects of abandonment, loneliness and rejection, she ministers to those whose hurt lies deep in the heart and works to minister to those who need hope. Armed with discernment, insight into the true character of God, honest about her own experience, and down to earth, Maria is an intercessor, teacher and powerful speaker. In 1975, immediately following the first most important walk Maria would ever take down a church aisle Maria took her second most important walk down the aisle and married her life-long love, Michael Durso. God continues to open doors for her to minister in conferences, seminars and retreats. Connect with Maria Durso at www.mariadurso.com.This study has been designed for individual use as well as applying it to a Small Group. To assist you in your study, the Bible Study Guide includes questions entitled Thoughts from the Heart at the end of each lesson. These exercises will hopefully challenge you to study further and apply God's Word to your personal life. In addition, there are Questions for Small Group Discussion, which are formulated to get your Small Group talking about the key issues in each lesson.Let's start to take the eighteen-inch journey from your head down into the deep valley of your heart, so you can slay the giants that are defying God's promises and blocking your blessings!

Break the cycle of doubting yourself, take God at His word, and talk back with truth - a new message of freedom from bestselling coauthor of Wild and Free Hayley Morgan. We know Christ came to speak life, but then how come our inner critic keeps showing up and stealing the mic? If we’re honest, she’s a harsh one, saying things we’d never dream of saying to others: You’ll never measure up, you’ll fail again tomorrow, you just can’t get it right. It has been said that the eighteen inches from head to heart is the soul’s longest journey. Our head knows the good news is true, but our heart struggles to believe it, and it is in this gap that we battle to believe the promises of God. Hayley Morgan, coauthor of bestselling book Wild and Free, has wrestled with this tension her whole life. In Preach to Yourself, she tackles it head-on to discover how we can renew our minds to renew our lives. For every woman who struggles with repetitive, negative self-talk, this book will show you how to identify the toxic loops where you get stuck and replace them with the truth of God we can believe with our whole selves. This is not a “try harder” reprimand, it’s a “believe better” invitation: to take God at His word when He tells you who you are. Come along and learn a simple practice to break free from the lies holding you back, and step forward into the fullness of life God has planned.

In 5 Habits to Lead from Your Heart, author and coach, Johnny Covey presents a powerful new way to change how we perceive experiences; how we make decisions and how we interpret events. Often we filter experiences through a lens that does not include our hearts. Harmful habits can form when we act out of fear or self-preservation (our head) instead of using our heart. But habits can be changed. Johnny illustrates how to understand better our human nature and unleash its potential; to lead from your heart, live courageously and create the life you want. So many times we are in a reactive mode, not thinking about what we are doing. Have we ever stopped and asked: What is holding me back? Why don’t I have relationships that I want? Why am I stuck in my head, worried about what others think of me? How can I free myself from ruts and routines? How might I choose to live courageously in my heart? How can I consciously create the life I am meant to live? Johnny helps us understand the genesis of our results—our mind—and our own system of checks and balances—our conscience. By combining what we currently know with Covey’s 5 Habits, we will have everything we need to elevate our thinking, take the next step—and succeed. "5 Habits to Lead from Your Heart is a rare wake-up call in our search for meaning.” ~Greg Link, Co-author of Smart Trust, Co-founder CoveyLink “Another winner in the Covey tradition.” ~Doug Conant, former CEO, Campbell Soup and Chairman, Avon Products “ If you want a book that is bone honest, practical, personal and profound, this is it.” ~Scott C. Hammond, author of Lessons of the Lost: Finding Hope and Resilience in Work/Life “This is an extraordinary book! Journey from doing to being, from planning to achieving, and from success to significance.” ~Dr Nido Qubein, President, High Point University; Chairman, Great Harvest Company

How do you explain a love that has no explanation? What will happen if you let it touch your heart? God loves you not because you are flawless, not because you are a perfect person, but just because you are you. In Life-Changing Love, John Ortberg reveals the God you’ve longed to encounter: a Father head-over-heels in love with you, his child, and intensely committed to your highest joy. Ortberg takes you to the very focus of who God is to discover a burning, passionate love that gives, and gives, and gives. He explores the life-changing ways this love has expressed itself through Jesus. And he shows how you can love your mate, your family, your friends, and the world around you with the same practical, transforming love. Dispelling your fears and misconceptions of God, Life-Changing Love brings you face-to-face with the Love that frees and empowers you to love.

The Bible reveals glorious things. And yet we often miss its power because we read it the same way we read any other book. In Reading the Bible Supernaturally, best-selling author John Piper teaches us how to read the Bible in light of its divine author. In doing so, he highlights the Bible's unique ability to reveal God to humanity in a way that informs our minds, transforms our hearts, and ignites our love. With insights into the biblical text drawn from decades of experience studying, preaching, and teaching Scripture, Piper helps us experience the transformative power of God's Word—a power that extends beyond the mere words on the page. Ultimately, Piper shows us that in the seemingly ordinary act of reading the Bible, something supernatural happens: we encounter the living God.

Preachers have long been faced with two options. On the one hand they can appeal to their congregations’ intellects, teaching them the substance of the faith from the pulpit. On the other they can seek to stir their hearers’ emotions, wooing or warning them with the gospel. Usually we reserve these two forms of preaching for different tasks or audiences. If you are preaching an evangelistic message to the unchurned, then your preaching style will draw more heavily on the emotional aspects. If you are leading the faithful into a deeper grasp of the Christian message, then you will more likely draw on the intellectual components of preaching. While most preachers know that the choice between the head and the heart is a false one, they often don’t know how to bring the two together effectively. In this book Thomas Swears offers detailed, practical advice on how to preach to both head and heart. He shows how both emotions and intellect function any time one tried to convey meaning from the pulpit, regardless of the kind of message one is preaching. Without abandoning the conventional wisdom on evangelistic vs. teaching sermons, he nonetheless insists that preaching with integrity—in which the Word is truly embodied—will always involve the whole person and personality of both the preacher and the congregation.

As Christians, we are to love God with all of our being--heart, mind, soul and strength. But many of us tend to overemphasize one aspect or another, and as a result, our faith becomes imbalanced. Some of us have an intellectual faith but lack compassion or spiritual discipline. Others of us have a vibrant, heartfelt relationship with God but lack commitment to truth or doctrine. And many of us overlook translating our faith into service and ministry. In this book ethicist Dennis P. Hollinger presents a holistic, integrative vision for reuniting Christian thought, passion and action. He shows how individuals, churches and movements throughout history have focused on either the head, or the heart or the hands--often to the exclusion of other expressions. But by linking our intellect, emotions and actions, Hollinger points us toward a whole faith for the whole person, where each dimension feeds, nurtures and sustains the others.

You Can Take Control of Your Thoughts! Confused by the competing voices in your head? You're not alone! Not mastering your thought life will eat away at your self-worth, poison your relationships, stunt your growth, and complicate your life. In The Four Voices, best-selling author and Bible teacher Patrick Morley will show you how to conquer those thoughts and feelings that keep dragging you down. With God's help, you can set your heart free and find peace of mind. The Loudest Voice Doesn't Have to Win!

A journal to help stop overthinking and start living the life you were meant to live ...