A surprising and enlightening assessment of AA-its basic tenets and how it works on the spirit-by a nun and recovering alcoholic. When Sister Molly Monahan joined Alcoholics Anonymous she was looking for the help and support she needed to stop drinking. But what she found was something more, something that surprised her: a deeper spirituality than she had ever experienced in her religious community. How could a nonreligious group espousing the most basic of spiritual beliefs have anything to teach a nun who had already spent three decades steeped in the values, rituals, and traditions of the contemplative life? The mystery of the effectiveness of AA has yet to be explained. This book looks at that question in new, interesting, and important ways. In Seeds of Grace, Sister Molly Monahan traces her progress through the Twelve Steps and identifies the lessons that Alcoholics Anonymous has to instruct all of us about grace, forgiveness, community, and, in AA parlance, "the God of our understanding." Along the way, through a series of meditations, she shares her insights on why AA works, how it works, and how it has changed her life and the lives of millions of people.

Daily we face challenges in life and we need words of encouragement to help and guide us through. Sometimes it can come from family, sometimes from friends and other times from books that we read. Within this book of Daily Seeds, you will reap a seasoned kernel of just what you need for the day. Del Bates began writing Daily Seeds as a daily devotion page on her website many years ago. After friends and fellow writers continued to encourage her to publish them, she did just that. Del has become transparent with her own life and has taken her challenges to show how God has used them to strengthen her faith and His love for her. Begin your journey today as you come along with Del to discover God's never ending love and grace for you.

Young readers will be amazed to learn about soil and why it is so important for life on Earth. This title is informative yet simple. Big text and simple sentences combined with vibrant photographs will entertain readers and strengthen their reading skills. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Abdo Kids is a division of ABDO.

`Polly likes these stripy seeds,' Grace said. `What are they from?' `Let's find out,' said Mrs Marino. Grace and her neighbour plant a mystery seed. They wait and wait for ages. Then a little green shoot starts to grow . . . and grow . . . and grow . . . until, at last, Grace discovers the truth about her amazing mystery seed. Intrigue and wonder will lead children to want to find out what grows in this book.

At the core of every soul, the seeds of truth and grace await the right frequency of light to awaken them. With this activation, they burst open, allowing wisdom to flood the soul and rise to the cognitive level of the mind. In this awakening comes access to the cosmic encyclopedia of life. Congratulations on following your intuition. By simply picking up this book, you embark on your journey to activate these seeds. You have taken a step to lift and shift your consciousness. The words will create a vibrational expansion within your awareness. As an evolutionary primer, it is not important to intellectualize what you are reading but rather to feel the energy of what is being communicated in your heart, body, and soul. As you read, you may feel lightheaded, fall asleep, or feel tingles of remembrance moving through your body. Whatever your experience, continue to absorb the energy of the message. The precepts shared are not meant to change or replace any practice or belief system that you have but rather to deepen your experience as you awaken to the potential that resides in you. This is a work that has been two thousand years in the making. Empowerment is at your fingertips. Seize it, and ignite your soul-guided life today.

A flourishing, fulfilling life is possible—no perfection required! Too many of us think we have to have it all together in order to live a meaningful life. Instead of feeling put together, we end up feeling inadequate, overwhelmed, and exhausted as we try to figure out how to do it all. Author, business owner, and mom to three Lara Casey has been there, too. In Cultivate, she offers this grace-filled advice: we can't do it all and do it well, but we can choose to cultivate what matters Written as part encouragement anthem and part practical guide, Cultivate offers wisdom from God's Word alongside lessons Lara has learned in her own life--and in her garden--giving you the tools you need to: Discern what matters most to you Embrace the season of life that you're in Find the joy and freedom that comes with cultivating what matters Let Lara be your guide as you learn to cultivate what matters, little by little, with the help of God's transforming grace. Praise for Cultivate: "Cultivate is rich soil for the soul! Whether you are a new sprout, just beginning to brave life in the light; a tender shoot fighting for space among rocks and weeds; or a mature plant in need of nurture and pruning, this book will help you thrive. With her characteristic honesty, humility, and patience, Lara Casey uses her spiritual 'green thumb' to gently nudge us toward an intentional life of godliness and growth. If you are ready for a new season of spiritual growth, dig into Cultivate and get ready to bloom!" --Elizabeth Laing Thompson, author of When God Says "Wait"

"Gardening is the most basic of languages, the labor from which we're all born and nourished. . . ." In these pages, we travel the country with Debra Landwehr Engle as she visits 20 gardens and gardeners from California to Maine and Minnesota to Arkansas, showing us that grassroots campaigns actually can and do involve roots--and seeds and garden trowels. That any person with a steadfast resolve and an open patch of dirt can help bridge the gap between multinational refugees. That lush vegetation and running water and cool stones can help spark the fading memories of our elderly. And that our children can learn about where food comes from, labyrinths, wetlands systems, and healing from grief and loss just by digging in the earth with a caring adult hand to guide them. As the stories in this remarkable collection demonstrate, the simplest act of gardening can produce significant changes in the lives of people we might never even meet. Consider the man who sends seedlings and greenhouses halfway around the world to feed hospital patients, or the immigrant woman who began selling her own flowers as a way to raise money for overseas charities, or the couple who offers their land as a midday retreat for the residents of nearby nursing homes. These acts and others are not heroic--or even unusual--as Ms. Engle tells us. We see ourselves in these uplifting tales from the garden, as they inspire us to transform our own little parts of the world into places of greater peace, repose, play, and healing. For gardeners, community activists, and those who understand the spiritual value of putting a spade in the soil, these stories capture the promise renewed each time we plant a seed and give us fresh ideas for changing the world, one garden at a time.

“Searching for Grace invites you into the kind of relationship that we all long for deep in our hearts. The relationship between Scotty and Russ is scary, vulnerable, painful, but gorgeously loving and drenched in grace.” —Paul David Tripp, author of New Morning Mercies Anxious? Burnt out? Weary? Why is it so hard for our souls to find rest? In Searching for Grace, Russ and his mentor, Scotty Smith, explore the contours of their lives and why embracing God’s grace unreservedly is so difficult for many of us. Their honest conversations offer priceless lessons for parched souls everywhere. Many of us feel anxious and unfulfilled by our everyday existence, yet deeply long for a purposeful, meaningful, and peace-filled life. That tension creates a background buzz of profound discontentment behind everything we do. There is a better way. Searching for Grace reveals the conversations between Russ and Scotty that transformed Russ’s life forever, helping him identify the mindsets that contributed to his restlessness. Straight from his little black journal, Russ shares the seven life-giving principles he learned from Scotty that unleashed him to a refreshingly new life, radically built on God’s grace.

C.S. Lewis likened hard times to "God's megaphone," a season when the Creator's ways are made clear and proven merciful. Mustard Seeds author Lynn Coulter agrees, writing here across fifteen essays about the natural graces and "God signs" that emerged during a three-year period of hardship and sustain her faith today. From personal events (her parents' deaths, a job loss) to universal cripplers (stress, worry), Coulter's fresh anecdotes unearth the little daily markers of God's love and care while staying rooted in Scripture. Her writings fuse the observational strength of Anne Lamott's nonfiction with the warm delivery of Sue Monk Kidd's devotional books and are sure to be passed around as tools of encouragement and faith strengthening among friends. Chapters include "Used People," "Deep Healing," and "Nothing without Joy." Endorsements Starred review. Coulter, a magazine journalist, takes the familiar biblical story of faith the size of a mustard seed to illustrate how God can use even the most horrendous "lifequakes" as faith-builders. Coulter opens her compilation of life essays with a personal story from her childhood, when the concept of mustard seed faith was first planted after a teacher offered the class mustard seed charms as an attendance reward. Though Coulter eventually lost the charm, she never forgot its message. Years later, after the death of her parents, her husband's job loss, financial setbacks, and her own shattered shoulder, the author's faith was in pieces. She wrestled long and hard to regain closeness with God. In each of these tender topical chapters, Coulter uses everyday happenings from nature, parenting, work, illnesses, and church to reaffirm a single lesson: God is intimately involved in every aspect of life and he cares with a watchful affection. Readers will find strength from Coulter's story and solace in God's promises regarding faith and grace. --Publishers Weekly "Reading Mustard Seeds feels like time spent conversing with a dear old friend over a cup of coffee. Lynn's honest story of how she renewed her faith in Jesus will be a blessing and a source of encouragement." --Mickey McLean, Web Managing Editor, WORLD Magazine "A sensitive, thoughtful book, filled with new beginnings, hope, and the wonder and beauty of the search for God." --Amy Blackmarr, author of Going to Ground: Simple Life on a Georgia Pond

Your faith is like a little seed that God planted in your heart when you were baptized, and just like a seed, your faith needs some important things to grow, like prayer, the sacraments, following the Ten Commandments, and more. Growing in faith makes God very happy, and it will make you happy too!