A tale of nine love stories--spanning 1100 years and stretching from the canyons and mesas of prehistoric North America to the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, from the Serengeti plains of Africa to the inner confines of a sultan's harem, from the Adirondack lakes of the British colonies to the law courts of Victorian London, and finally to the hospital halls of Ohio. What weaves these tales together is something stronger than death and lasting longer than time as we know it. Beyond the sweeping romance and soul-baring emotional intrigue, Weber delivers nine well-researched historical studies of what it was like to live in those widely varying cultures during vastly different times...and what can happen when you continue to open your heart to love.

Scattered throughout many kabbalistic and hasidic texts are numerous teaching stories with reincarnation as their central theme. Now, for the first time, you can read 70 of these fascinating tales in a single volume, collected and retold by master storyteller, Yonassan Gershom. The author begins with an over-view of basic themes about the afterlife, such as the judgement of souls before the Heavenly Court, the mystical significance of the Covenant at Sinai, the process of tikkun olam (repairing the universe), and some reasons why human beings return to earth in new bodies. He then takes you on an exciting journey through many centuries of Jewish tales, where you will meet dozens of saints and sinners, animals and humans, angels and mortals-all attempting to work out their past-life karma through applying the teachings of the Torah in earthly life. In order to make the classical stories understandable to the modern reader, each tale has been ex-panded to include clear explanations of cultural and religious details. So skillfully does Gershom weave this material into the narrative itself, that the reader scarcely notices how a gentle form of education is taking place. By the time you have finished the book, you will not only have been entertained, but will have completed an excellent introduction to Jewish spirituality as well. Both classical and contemporary tales are included here, from sources as widely varied as kabbalistic texts, folklore anthologies, and discussions on the Internet. Of special interest are several new tales collected by the author himself, which have never before appeared in print.

A touching memoir of life with an alcoholic father who secretly works with the CIA, a dark pilgrimage through the valley of depression and addiction, and finding a faith to redeem and a strength to forgive. "This is a record of my life as I remember it—but more importantly, as I felt it." At the age of sixteen, Ian Morgan Cron was told by his mother that his father, a motion picture executive, worked with the CIA in Europe. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggle with alcoholism, upended the world of a teenager struggling to become a man. Born into a family of privilege and power, Ian's life is populated with colorful people and stories as his father takes the family on a wild roller-coaster ride through wealth and poverty and back again. Decades later, as he faced his own personal demons, Ian realized that the only way to find peace was to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes—privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit—that he’d spent years trying to escape. A fast-paced, unique memoir about the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of The Road Back to You Details his father’s struggle with alcohol and Cron’s own journey from addiction to twenty-three years of sobriety Encouragement to see God’s redemptive power through life’s struggles In this surprisingly funny and forgiving memoir, Ian reminds us that no matter how different the pieces may be, in the end we are all cut from the same cloth, stitched by faith into an exquisite quilt of grace.

Vocation is more than a job. It is our relationships and responsibilities woven into the work of God. In following our calling to seek the welfare of our world, we find that it flourishes and so do we. Garber offers here a book for parents, artists, students, public servants and businesspeople—for all who want to discover the virtue of vocation.

Twin Memoirs Volume 5 By Robert W. Parsons ------------------------------

I am Mitchell, the grandson of the Reverend Dr. Matlin DeMarco. But you already know that. Meet Charlie and me—who we are, how we met, and what we have become to each other. Call me Pastor Mitch, as my congregation does. I will fill you in on all the unknown answers that have come up throughout the Twin Memoirs saga that were briefly dwelled upon. My thesis, before ordination by the seminary, will tell you of my belief system. I am a Gnostic Christian. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge and a follower of Jesus. I use the Bible as a reference book, not a statute of limitations as many Christian put upon themselves. Stay with me as the truth be told. In book 12 is the twenty lost years of Michael DeMarco’s life after death. I had finally met my granduncle as he shared with me story after story of how he came to terms with his new life in God after becoming a vampire of light. Yes, it is true. Michael, my granduncle, is the last of his kind. He will become the new superhero. Meet Salvatore. Was my grandfather ever lost in space? His spirit never came around to me. And neither did my granduncle and my great-great-grandmother. Why? The last book called Resurrection will answer that question concerning my grandfather. Are you still waiting to hear what took place at Grandad’s fiftieth high school reunion and its theme? And what about the urn I found in Granddad’s destroyed cabin north of Eagleton? Whose ashes did they belong to?

Like most of us, Lauren Winner wants something to believe in. The child of a reform Jewish father and a lapsed Southern Baptist mother, she chose to become an Orthodox Jew. But as she faithfully observes the Sabbath rituals and studies Jewish laws, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Christianity. Taking a courageous step, she leaves behind what she loves and converts. Now the even harder part: How does one reinvent a religious self? How does one embrace the new without abandoning the old? How does a convert become spiritually whole. In GIRL MEETS GOD, this appealingly honest young woman takes us through a year in her search for a religious identity. Despite her conversion, she finds that her world is still shaped by her Jewish experiences. Even as she rejoices in the holy days of the Christian calendar, she mourns the Jewish rituals she still holds dear. Attempting to reconcile the two sides of her religious self, Winner applies the lessons of Judaism to the teachings of the New Testament, hosts a Christian seder, and struggles to fit her Orthodox friends into her new religious life. Ultimately she learns that faith takes practice and belief is an ongoing challenge. Like Anne Lamott's, Winner's journey to Christendom is bumpy, but it is the rocky path itself that makes her a perfect guide to exploring spirituality in today's complicated world. Her engaging approach to religion in the twenty-first century is illuminating, thought-provoking, and most certainly controversial.