Alpha course speaker Julie Sheldon reflects on a gift that we seldom welcome: the gift of tears. We often try to fight them back, yet they can bring cleansing, healing and release. Julie tells many inspirational real life stories and relates them to biblical examples and teaching.

A personal and spiritual growth journal that walks you through a welcoming process of slowing down and reflecting on how to live a more Christ-centered, balanced life that values relationships and community.

Whether your life is stormy with painful circumstances, drizzly with stresses and anxieties, or sunny with a sense that God is in control, The Gift of Tears invites you to experience God’s peace and presence in deeper ways. Tears are a gift. Though we long for the constant sunshine of happiness and the comfort of a stress-free life, we need the nourishing, refreshing teardrops of life lessons. Without tears, the garden of our heart becomes parched and barren. Thus, God offers us the gift of tears. In this ten-week devotional, you will journey through life stories of learning to trust God in difficult circumstances, parables from times of listening prayer, insights from contemplating God’s word, and prayer activities that inspire personal prayer and reflection. The Gift of Tears encourages you to experience tears as a blessing, not a burden, and even in life’s storms to thank God for the tears.

"A prescription for explosive and effective prayer" —Pat Boone “The Power of Crying Out will bless and inspire you with a deeper understanding of God’s grace and power. Bill Gothard’s book has reawakened in me a strong desire to cry out to my Lord with passion and expectancy.” —Dr. Gary Smalley, counselor and bestselling author When members of the early church cried out to God in urgent need, the place shook with the power of their supplication. In this compelling vision for modern-day supplication, Bill Gothard recognizes the key truth that only God's almighty power can rescue His children in times of distress. Using illustrations from Scripture and testimonies from everyday people, Gothard demonstrates the power of crying out—and how God can shake the world of those who cry out to Him today. His compelling teaching will revolutionize the way you pray—for all time!

The Great Canon has been described as one of the jewels of Orthodoxy's ascetic spirituality. In the first week of Lent, during Great Compline, it is sung and declaimed in portions; on Thursday of the fifth week, during Matins, in its entirety. Throughout, accompanied by bows or prostrations, the refrain is: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me. This short, yet full, essay by Olivier Clément serves as an enriching commentary and guide for reading The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete. The author begins the journey with a study of the meaning of "awakening" and "the fear of God" the stepping stones toward true repentance. He then follows the Canon's path of identifying our fallen nature, the passions, Christ's liberation from sin and death, humility, and asceticism, and ends with a comparison between the shedding of tears and the holy chrism of baptism. Clément ultimately encourages us to see repentance as the key to being fully alive-and The Great Canon as our roadmap toward becoming alive in Christ. A translation of the Great Canon accompanies the text.

Lysa TerKeurst, mother of five and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, knows about the bouts of “mommy stress” that come with parenting and managing a home and a life. From her own experience and conversations with hundreds of other women, Lysa shares how mothers can release the guilt they sometimes feel and stop blaming their parenting skills every time a child does something wrong let kids live with the consequences of their bad choices simplify life to create breathing room quit comparing themselves to “perfect” moms turn to God for support, guidance, and patience Overflowing with practical ideas, short Bible studies, and plenty of encouragement, this inspiring resource will help moms to realize that—with God’s wisdom and mercy—they can experience peace and satisfaction while raising their kids. Rerelease of The Bathtub Is Overflowing but I Feel Drained

"With ageless wisdom for every occasion, this elegant little book is the perfect gift for moms to share with their children -- and for themselves. Time-honored proverbs, enlightening parables, and inspiring poetry, illustrated with exquisite vintage art, encourage readers to contemplate and celebrate life's milestones. These uplifting words and their invaluable lessons, drawn from cultures around the world, will resonate with families of all walks. Whether commemorating a birthday, or celebrating a housewarming or a special holiday, this timeless treasure of 100-plus blessings provides guidance and encouragement for everyone: an enduring keepsake readers will turn to again and again."--Provided by publisher.

Quit playing it safe and start running toward the roar! Now available for the first time in a convenient paperback edition and featuring a brand new group discussion guide. When the image of a man-eating beast travels through the optic nerve and into the visual cortex, the brain sends the body a simple but urgent message: run away! That’s what normal people do, but not lion chasers. Rather than seeing a five-hundred-pound problem, they see an opportunity for God to show up and show His power. Chase the Lion is more than a catch phrase; it’s a radically different approach to life. It’s only when we stop fearing failure that we can fully seize opportunity by the mane. With grit and gusto, New York Times best-selling author Mark Batterson delivers a bold message to everyone with a big dream. This is a wake-up call to stop living as if the purpose of life was to simply arrive safely at death. Our dreams should scare us. They should be so big that without God they would be impossible to achieve. Quit running away from what you’re afraid of. Chase the lion! Change the world! What is your five-hundred-pound dream? In this highly anticipated sequel to his best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson invites lion chasers everywhere to chase dreams so impossible that victory demands we face our fears, defy the odds, and hold tight to God. These are the kind of dreams that will make you a bigger person and the world a better place. Based upon 2 Samuel 23, Chase the Lion tells the true story of an ancient warrior named Benaiah who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day—and then killed it. For most people, that situation wouldn’t just be a problem…it would be the last problem they ever faced. For Benaiah, it was an opportunity to step into his destiny. After defeating the lion, he landed his dream job as King David’s bodyguard and eventually became commander-in-chief of Israel’s army under King Solomon. Written in a way that both challenges and encourages, this revolutionary book will help unleash the faith and courage you need to identify, chase, and catch the five-hundred-pound dreams in your life.

Imran Islam is a young very talented writer. He writes in an inspiring authentic way. Inviting young generation for finding meaning and purpose in their life. Every single poem transmits a strong form of understanding duty, commitment, faith and love as a driving inspiration in life. Imran's emotions of Faith and devotion transmits to the readers. His inner life experience with faith, hope, honesty, happiness, love; all life virtues are reflected in his poems, which makes his work inspiring to everyone. Readers love this poetry book as it is written in a fresh and flowing way. Imran Islam goes with his own style of expressing profound meaning and deep faith. It's always gratifying to read Imran's poetry. Readers can feel that he writes from the heart.

Life is full of ups and downs. All believers, at some point or another, will stand at a crossroads whether in our ministries, while weathering a major storm, or while contemplating why our faithfulness to God seems to cause humiliation, betrayal, or gossip. One day we will all have our garden of Gethsemane—the call God has on our lives that will require pain, trials, and sorrow in order for his glory to become evident, and strengthen us to walk in our destinies and build God’s kingdom. In a powerful and unique spiritual guidebook, Deborah Faulks utilizes the story of Jesus’s temptations at the Garden of Gethsemane to educate believers on how to be prepared for the advances of the devil as well as on how to leave the garden successfully and ultimately fulfill God’s destiny and purpose. Faulks includes Christian characteristics that qualify a believer, twelve keys of wisdom, comparisons between the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane, ways to prevent getting stuck, why Jesus is the model of prayer, and a detailed explanation of the heart of Jesus in prayer. The Tears of Gethsemane reveals hidden biblical truths while educating the believer standing at the crossroads of a God-ordained ministry to fulfill their spiritual destiny and purpose.