Thirteen-year-old Henry's happy, ordinary life comes to an abrupt halt when his older brother, Jesse, picks up their father's hunting rifle and leaves the house one morning. What follows shatters Henry's family, who are forced to resume their lives in a new city, where no one knows their past. When Henry's therapist suggests he keeps a journal, at first he is resistant. But soon he confides in it at all hours of the day and night.

In his teens, a young man wrote, “I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them.” After serving in the trenches of WW1, the same young man said, “I never sank so low as to pray.” To a religious friend, he wrote impatiently, “You can’t start with God. I don’t accept God!” This young man was C. S. Lewis, the “foul-mouthed atheist” who would become one of the most eloquent Christian writers of the twentieth century. David C. Downing offers a unique look at Lewis’s personal journey to faith and the profound influence it had on his life as a writer and eventual follower of Christ. This is the first book to focus on the period from Lewis’s childhood to his early thirties, a tumultuous journey of spiritual and intellectual exploration. It was not despite this journey but precisely because of it that Lewis understood the search for life’s meaning so well.

Imagine the God of the universe whispering in your ear, “What shall we create out of your life that will serve My purpose?” The path of authenticity is not a solo endeavor but a calling to a partnership with God that requires utter honesty, trust, commitment, and wisdom. God guides your path with a two-fold promise, “You know I love you as you are, but together, we can make of your life what I created you to be.” Following the petitions of our Lord’s Prayer, Dr. Richard Parrott examines a family of authentic partners, the family of Abraham and Sarah, their son Isaac, grandson Jacob, and great-grandson Joseph. This fresh telling of the story reveals practical answers to the question, “How can my partnership with God be genuine, mature, and significant?” The Reluctant Journey is an honest and practical guide for relating to God. As authentic Christians, we can live true in Christ and our love for him each day, choosing His best for us so that together, we advance His kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” Features include: Truths from the Lord’s Prayer Stories of the founders of our faith Thought-provoking questions for spiritual conversation or reflection

"An honest and revealing description of one skeptic's spiritual journey from his Lutheran upbringing to Native sensibilities"--

Will Lucy make it down the aisle? It's going to be an uphill struggle . . . The bride: A late starter in life, Lucy always swore she'd never get married. But now she has to find a caterer who doesn't charge a fortune for a cupcake, a dressmaker who doesn't make her cry and a way to bring Great-Auntie Betty down from Dundee for the sixpence she is willing to spend - isn't it meant to be HER special day? The groom: Christopher has spent twenty minutes compiling his guest list and checking his suit fits before returning to his newspaper - this wedding business isn't so hard after all. The mother of the bride: Armed with colour-coded wedding planning folders she is all set. However, twice-daily conversations with her daughter don't seem to be shortening the 'to-do' list she's drawn up. The father of the bride: A wedding? My daughter? Who's she marrying? The best friend: Gillian has stood by Lucy through thick and thin, but she is refusing to be a bridesmaid and wear a daft dress.

The winner of the prestigious Caldecott Honor, and described by the New York Times as 'a masterwork', Aaron Becker's stunning, wordless picture book debut about self-determination and unexpected friendship follows a little girl who draws a magic door on her bedroom wall. Through it she escapes into a world where wonder, adventure and danger abound. Red marker pen in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon and a flying carpet which carry her on a spectacular journey ... who knows where? When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also guide her home and to happiness? In this exquisitely illustrated book, an ordinary child is launched on an extraordinary, magical journey towards her greatest and most rewarding adventure of all...

In August 2013, Candice M. Sanderson's life changed in a ten-minute period of time. When her training as a psychologist failed to explain these events, she reluctantly followed the breadcrumbs down a path which resulted in an extraordinary adventure into the unknown. The Reluctant Messenger chronicles her expedition across a vast expanse of universal consciousness that resulted in new truths about life that she thought she had known so well.

"This beautifully written memoir, which shifts smoothly from past to present as it blends memory and contemporary experience, is a story that will resonate with any sensitive Jew. [The book] intrigues and challenges, transcends the personal and becomes a universal statement." -- Hadassah Magazine "In an astonishing and moving document, Weiss... describes his 1995 return trip to the Austrian hometown from which, as a boy, he fled Nazi persecution in 1938..... [T]his soul-searching odyssey... will reward readers of all faiths." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A powerful and unusually eloquent memoir of a prominent Austrian Holocaust survivor invited back to face... old ghosts and demons.... An intelligent and profound memoir." -- Kirkus Reviews David Weiss is an eminent biomedical scientist, now living in Israel. But in 1938 he was an 11-year-old boy in Austria who dramatically escaped the Nazis with his family. For some 56 years Weiss held a deep and abiding enmity for everything Austrian and German. Reluctant Return is his account of his emotional return to his hometown of Wiener Neustadt, the remarkable Christian group that brought it about, and the visit's surprising echoes and consequences.

Follow a reluctant wife and her excited husband through two humorously-conflicted years of RV travel. He wanted to go; she wanted to stay. They both learn, grow, and change as a new level of freedom evolves. This book is light-hearted and humorous but at the same time serious. While not a How-To book, it gives lots of basic information about RVing. And while not a travelogue, it touches upon many travel destinations in the United States and Canada. On deeper levels, the book is about marital relationships, retiring and getting old, and finding a new kind of freedom through a minimalistic lifestyle. After reading this book, you'll never again look at one of those huge monstrosities driving down the road in quite the same way. The book answers questions for non-RVers and triggers chuckles of recognition from experienced RVers.

Bishop Shannon resigned from the episcopate when he could no longer reconcile his personal convictions about family planning with Vatican policy. Now happily married, he writes about a more democratic and inclusive church in an age of increasing authoritarianism.