With more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's disease and nearly 10 million loved ones caring for them, addressing the concerns of these elders and their caregivers is a matter of increasing importance. Relying on their many years of experience in this area, Jane Thibault and Richard Morgan offer this book to provide a fresh, hopeful model of dealing with life and death in the realm of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Caregivers have two basic needs: affirmation that caregiving is not in vain and reassurance that the lives of those for whom they care are not being lived in vain. Care receivers need more than medical attention; they need tender care, involvement in the community, and a sense of connection with a loving God. When patient and caregiver regard this shared experience as a "mutual spiritual path," each plays a role in deepening the spiritual life of the other. No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted is an excellent resource for individuals caring for loved ones as well as for counselors, support group leaders, pastors, and other professionals. In addition to offering practical ways to help, this book serves as a reminder that every act of love brings positive transformation to the recipient, to the giver, and to the world.

A Network for Grateful Living curates this collection of quotes and reflections aiming to help you discover that the roots of happiness lie in gratefulness. Inspiration from well-known minds such as Maya Angelou, Confucius, and Anne Frank is combined with original reflections and practices that will help you recognize the abundance of everyday opportunities for gratitude and joy. Hand-lettered art makes this beautifully designed collection a gift to treasure, regardless of whether you keep it for yourself or give it to a loved one.

Take a few moments out of your busy life to seek the God who desires to love, comfort, heal, and transform you. All you need to do is make yourself available to listen to His voice, to sense His promptings in your heart and spirit, to saturate your mind with His written word. Seeking His Face is a refreshing daily devotional from beloved pastor and bestselling author, Dr. Charles Stanley. Open your heart to the Father as Dr. Stanley leads you in a daily quest to seek His face. Follow after God each day and allow Him to mold you into the man or woman He intends for you to be. For, as Dr. Stanley writes,"Only a divine encounter with God can satisfy the inner longing of your heart and bring a true sense of fulfillment and lasting peace."

Academic theology is in need of a new genre. In "Transgressive Devotion" Natalie Wigg-Stevenson articulates a theological vision of that genre as performance art. She argues that theology done as performance art stops trying to describe who God is, and starts trying to make God appear. Recognising that the act of studying theology or practicing ministry is always a performance, where the boundaries between what we see, feel, experience and learn are not just blurred but potentially invisible, Wigg-Stevenson brings together ethnographic theological fieldwork, historical and contemporary Christian theological traditions, and performance artworks themselves. A daring vision of theology which will energise anybody feeling ‘boxed in’ by the discipline, Transgressive Devotion blurs borders between orthodoxy, heterodoxy and heresy to reveal how the very act of doing theology makes God and humanity vulnerable to each other. This is theology which is a liturgy of Divine incantation. In other words: this is theology which is also prayer.

The reflections contained here invite us to ponder our lives and to open our listening hearts to the voice of God, so that our Lent can truly be a Lent in its deepest sense a spring that buds forth new life. Drawing upon classic and current literature, Marc Foley accompanies us in this Scriptural-personal Lenten journey. He does it in a way that invites us to both explore the human condition and embrace the grace the Lord again offers us in order to transform who we are and how we are living. What more than this can you ask of a Lenten guide?" Robert J. Wicks Author of Everyday Simplicity This little gem [of Lenten reflections] could apply just as well to any time during the liturgical year... Foley turns the reading of this book into an enjoyable and beneficial experience." Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. Carmelite scholar and translator of the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila

In Transcendent Love: Dostoevsky and the Search for a Global Ethic, Leonard G. Friesen ranges widely across Dostoevsky's stories, novels, journalism, notebooks, and correspondence to demonstrate how Dostoevsky engaged with ethical issues in his times and how those same issues continue to be relevant to today's ethical debates. Friesen contends that the Russian ethical voice, in particular Dostoevsky's voice, deserves careful consideration in an increasingly global discussion of moral philosophy and the ethical life. Friesen challenges the view that contemporary liberalism provides a religiously neutral foundation for a global ethic. He argues instead that Dostoevsky has much to offer when it comes to the search for a global ethic, an ethic that for Dostoevsky was necessarily grounded in a Christian concept of an active, extravagant, and transcendent love. Friesen also investigates Dostoevsky's response to those who claimed that contemporary European trends, most evident in the rising secularization of nineteenth-century society, provided a more viable foundation for a global ethic than one grounded in the One, whom Doestoevsky called simply "the Russian Christ." Throughout, Friesen captures a sense of the depth and sheer loveliness of Dostoevsky's canon.

In this uplifting and transformational book, spiritual teacher Mary Davis shares daily reflections, inspiring quotes, practices, prayers and meditations that fill your heart with encouragement, joy and inner peace. With a page for each day of the year, this gentle book will become a companion and a wise teacher that takes you on a spiritual journey of finding joy and gratitude in simple things, peace and comfort even in the midst of chaos, and a deeper love for others through kindness, compassion and service. Written during a year of solitude in the isolation of a cabin, Mary's poetic gift with words, loving guidance, humor and heart will feed your soul and have you looking forward to each day's reading. Every Day Spirit is packed with spiritual wisdom, making it a road map to a more meaningful and fulfilling life – and a reminder to slow down and notice the blessings. It's the perfect gift for yourself...and anyone in need of inspiration, hope, comfort and wisdom.

The sun rises, the day begins, and the world begins clamoring for your time. But the whisper of God calls you to be with Him?and it's the best part of your day. Beloved pastor Charles Stanley has been teaching the Word of God for forty years?lovingly, reverently explaining the wonders of Christ's Good News from the pulpit, in his internationally acclaimed radio program, and in more than thirty-five best-selling books. In I Lift Up My Soul, Dr. Stanley's inspirational gems?filled with personal wisdom and words of encouragement?will lead you to your heavenly Father day after day. Each day in I Lift Up My Soul, you will find a verse from Scripture, recommended reading, a guided prayer, and an inspirational and instructional message designed to lift your heart and soul from the earthly to the eternal. Your day will be transformed.

Discover God's Blessings for Your Life Even more appealing than the charm of a trail through the forest, the serenity of a stroll by a river, or the inspiration of climbing a mountain path are the spiritual pathways to God's awesome presence. Pathways to His Presence reveals Dr. Charles Stanley's keen understanding of your deep longing for a clearer view of God's will for your life. The spiritual guidelines of the Word explained in this devotional offer practical truth and inspiration for everyday living. The daily readings reveal biblical solutions to the desires and fears of those who feel they are stumbling along faintly lit paths of life. If you're longing for the blessings God promises to those who walk with Him, Pathways to His Presence will lead you in the direction to capture them in your everyday life.

People diagnosed with dementia are still living and deserve the support needed to help them live as well as possible through the trauma and losses they face. To this end, the expressive arts play an important role. Enlightened by his father’s artistic gift revealed in the throes of dementia, neurologist Daniel C. Potts tells how his father’s creativity inspired the development of the Bringing Art to Life program, sharing stories of its participants, both persons living with dementia and their student partners, and of the power of art and authentic relationships to foster spiritual growth and make meaning even amidst life’s greatest challenges.