In this special seasonal edition, bestselling author Robert J. Morgan shares the incredible stories behind traditional holiday hymns of faith, including Christmas, Easter, and more. Is there a festive season of the year that is complete without one of your favorite hymns? Not only do hymns connect you to great memories, but they also reveal the faith of those who lived throughout history. As Robert Morgan explored the stories behind some of the best-loved hymns, he found fascinating accounts of tribulations, triumphs, struggles, and hope—ordinary people who connected with God in amazing ways, sharing their experiences through song. Included inside this special edition are: 150 devotional-style stories with the words and music to each hymn Includes hymns for holidays including Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and more Jagged edged paper, giving it a classic feel Includes a complete hymn index by title, first line, and songwriter Perfect for use as a daily devotional, teaching illustration, or for song leaders and music ministers Discover the inspiration behind your favorite hymns. Find new favorites as you relate to the people whose walk of faith led them to write these classic songs of praise. Share these stories with your family, friends, and church, and find more depth and meaning as you worship God through song.

The diaries of a remarkable young woman who was determined to live a meaningful and happy life despite her struggle with cystic fibrosis and a rare superbug—from age fifteen to her death at the age of twenty-five—the inspiration for the original streaming documentary Salt in My Soul “An exquisitely nuanced chronicle of a terrified but hopeful young woman whose life was beginning and ending, all at once.”—Los Angeles Times Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of three, Mallory Smith grew up to be a determined, talented young woman who inspired others even as she privately raged against her illness. Despite the daily challenges of endless medical treatments and a deep understanding that she’d never lead a normal life, Mallory was determined to “Live Happy,” a mantra she followed until her death. Mallory worked hard to make the most out of the limited time she had, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, becoming a cystic fibrosis advocate well known in the CF community, and embarking on a career as a professional writer. Along the way, she cultivated countless intimate friendships and ultimately found love. For more than ten years, Mallory recorded her thoughts and observations about struggles and feelings too personal to share during her life, leaving instructions for her mother to publish her work posthumously. She hoped that her writing would offer insight to those living with, or loving someone with, chronic illness. What emerges is a powerful and inspiring portrait of a brave young woman and blossoming writer who did not allow herself to be defined by disease. Her words offer comfort and hope to readers, even as she herself was facing death. Salt in My Soul is a beautifully crafted, intimate, and poignant tribute to a short life well lived—and a call for all of us to embrace our own lives as fully as possible.

It's not easy navigating a course through life. Self-reflection is rapidly becoming a forgotten art form in a society obsessed with social media's mindless status updates, links, likes and superficial self-projections. While each of us more connected to the outside world than ever before we often feel completely isolated.This is What My Soul Looks Like gives you the ability to undertake a quest to find the real you.It's a collection of gently probing questions and prompts that lead you to uncover just exactly makes you tick.Treat this book as a journey of discovery, a real confessional that will playfully encourage you to push your limits as you discover your unedited self.Explore not only who you are now, but who you want to be. Delve into your thoughts, your values and your beliefs.Think of it as DIY Therapy.So, if you want to find out who you really are, why not start with the question: how do you feel?

"Hymn singing reflects a congregation's spiritual vitality and their response to God's grace.

In the third volume of his bestselling series, Pastor Robert Morgan expands his material to include the great history of worship, the first biblical hymns, biographical sketches of the most interesting composers, and almost 60 generations of hymn singing. In 2003, Robert Morgan released what would become a future classic for over a million readers: a unique book entitled Then Sings My Soul. This collection of the world’s greatest hymns and the stories behind them stirred an entire generation to better understand the heritage of our faith through song. Now, in the third volume of this series, Morgan expands his material to include: The fascinating history of worship from ancient times to contemporary praise Almost 60 generations of hymn singing Biographical sketches of the most interesting composers Hymn index for easy reference Then Sings My Soul: Book 3 also includes a collection of the greatest hymns you’ve never heard, with lead-sheets included. All of this is in addition to even more standard hymns and the stories of the composers behind them. Morgan’s conclusion guides the reader into enjoying all of God’s music, blending the old and the new into a symphony of praise that keeps the worship alive for a new generation.

Are your days full? Are you tired and craving quiet for your soul? You're not alone. If days filled with obligations and never-ending to-do lists leave you feeling anxious and overwhelmed, you can find the peace your soul longs for. In Settle My Soul, authors Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk invite you to carve out a few moments in your day to deepen your relationship with the Lord through 100 encouraging devotions. Karen and Ruth are women who understand all that you're juggling, and they desire for you to experience the refreshment that comes only from the Lord. Settle My Soul is the companion to the best-selling devotional Pressing Pause. With just a few minutes, you can connect with God, set aside your busyness and worries, center your thoughts on Him and His Word, and restore your peace of mind. Each devotional includes a brief but meaningful devotional message, applicable scripture, guided prayer, and reflection questions. Throughout the book you'll also find journaling pages for deeper reflection. Perfect gift for birthdays and Mother's Day. Over 100,000 copies sold! Settle My Soul was named the 2020 ECPA Christian Book Award winner for the Devotion and Gift category. Your life is loud. But if you will just press pause for a few minutes each day, you can discover what Jesus longs to give you: His peace.

Black gospel music grew from obscure nineteenth-century beginnings to become the leading style of sacred music in black American communities after World War II. Jerma A. Jackson traces the music's unique history, profiling the careers of several singers--particularly Sister Rosetta Tharpe--and demonstrating the important role women played in popularizing gospel. Female gospel singers initially developed their musical abilities in churches where gospel prevailed as a mode of worship. Few, however, stayed exclusively in the religious realm. As recordings and sheet music pushed gospel into the commercial arena, gospel began to develop a life beyond the church, spreading first among a broad spectrum of African Americans and then to white middle-class audiences. Retail outlets, recording companies, and booking agencies turned gospel into big business, and local church singers emerged as national and international celebrities. Amid these changes, the music acquired increasing significance as a source of black identity. These successes, however, generated fierce controversy. As gospel gained public visibility and broad commercial appeal, debates broke out over the meaning of the music and its message, raising questions about the virtues of commercialism and material values, the contours of racial identity, and the nature of the sacred. Jackson engages these debates to explore how race, faith, and identity became central questions in twentieth-century African American life.

This book provides a practical step-by-step guide to soul activation. This four step process involves: Connecting with your soul; Befriending your soul; Trusting your soul; Becoming one with your soul. You are a soul in a human body but your ego is unaware of this. To fully step into soul consciousness, you must learn how to align the beliefs of your ego with the values of your soul, and commit to leading a values and purpose-driven life. The ultimate arbiter of where you have got to on your journey into soul consciousness is the quality of the connections you have with other people-not just your family and friends, but the strangers around you. Every person you meet is a soul who is working on the same project as you-promoting the evolution of human consciousness. Rejoice in your common heritage and purpose by connecting with them wherever you are and whenever you can. When you fully realize who you are, you will understand that in caring for others, you are caring for yourself.

In this ambitious book on southern gospel music, Douglas Harrison reexamines the music's historical emergence and its function as a modern cultural phenomenon. Rather than a single rhetoric focusing on the afterlife as compensation for worldly sacrifice, Harrison presents southern gospel as a network of interconnected messages that evangelical Christians use to make individual sense of both Protestant theological doctrines and their own lived experiences. Harrison explores how listeners and consumers of southern gospel integrate its lyrics and music into their own religious experience, building up individual--and potentially subversive--meanings beneath a surface of evangelical consensus. Reassessing the contributions of such figures as Aldine Kieffer, James D. Vaughan, and Bill and Gloria Gaither, Then Sings My Soul traces an alternative history of southern gospel in the twentieth century, one that emphasizes the music's interaction with broader shifts in American life beyond the narrow confines of southern gospel's borders. His discussion includes the "gay-gospel paradox"--the experience of non-heterosexuals in gospel music--as a cipher for fundamentalism's conflict with the postmodern world.

In our can't-stop world, where we frantically move through our days with hardly a moment of true rest and reflection, it's hard to comprehend the thought of being still, of leaving our anxiety and worry and impatience in the capable hands of a loving God. But that's exactly what Elisabeth Elliot calls us to do. Using the title of one of her favorite hymns as her unifying theme, Elliot offers an inspiring collection of reflections on living the Christian life. Illustrating biblical concepts with her rich personal experiences as a missionary, mother, wife, widow, radio host, and internationally known public speaker, Elliot writes with clarity and elegance on topics at once timeless and timely. This lovely new repackaged edition is perfect for the busy times in which we live.