Charlie Ramsey and Dora met for the first time in a parking lot after a football game. They became high school sweethearts. They got married after college and moved into a new housing development called Valley View Estates. For the next twenty-something years, they raised their two children, Samantha and Skip. When they left for college, Charlie and Dora found empty nest freedom and regularly attended a neighborhood bar on the weekends. Their next-door neighbors moved out, and a younger show business couple, the Reynoldses, who had traveled most of the world, moved in. Randy was a producer of fashion shows, theater, and musicians. Camile was a tall, beautiful, shapely blonde who was retired but had been a fashion model since she was in her teens. The Ramseys and the Reynoldses started socializing at home and the local bar in the neighborhood and became close friends.

Life Takes Place argues that, even in our mobile, hypermodern world, human life is impossible without place. Seamon asks the question: why does life take place? He draws on examples of specific places and place experiences to understand place more broadly. Advocating for a holistic way of understanding that he calls "synergistic relationality," Seamon defines places as spatial fields that gather, activate, sustain, identify, and interconnect things, human beings, experiences, meanings, and events. Throughout his phenomenological explication, Seamon recognizes that places are multivalent in their constitution and sophisticated in their dynamics. Drawing on British philosopher J. G. Bennett’s method of progressive approximation, he considers place and place experience in terms of their holistic, dialectical, and processual dimensions. Recognizing that places always change over time, Seamon examines their processual dimension by identifying six generative processes that he labels interaction, identity, release, realization, intensification, and creation. Drawing on practical examples from architecture, planning, and urban design, he argues that an understanding of these six place processes might contribute to a more rigorous place making that produces robust places and propels vibrant environmental experiences. This book is a significant contribution to the growing research literature in "place and place making studies."

These two separate volumes grew out of Susan Lenzkes's own flood of adversity. As her husband, Herb, battled cancer, Susan came to recognize the goodness found not only in refreshing spring showers but also in the raging torrents that threaten to wash away the very bedrock of our lives. These two books are now combined in a larger print edition that is gentle on the eyes and even gentler on the heart.

Based on a Navy SEAL's inspiring graduation speech, this #1 New York Times bestseller of powerful life lessons "should be read by every leader in America" (Wall Street Journal). If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university's slogan, "What starts here changes the world," he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better. Admiral McRaven's original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments. "Powerful." --USA Today "Full of captivating personal anecdotes from inside the national security vault." --Washington Post "Superb, smart, and succinct." --Forbes

Bailey Lynn had her life perfectly planned. She thought she was on the path that God had preordained for her. But when her life took an unexpected turn, Bailey was left to question God’s ability to dictate her life. With shattered dreams surrounding her, Bailey found herself looking for answers to where she should go from here. In Unforeseen: Learning to Trust in God’s Plan When Life Takes Unexpected Turns, Bailey shares how she learned to trust God with a future she had never planned. As she battled whether God’s plans for her were truly as good as He had promised in His Word, Bailey began to see that His ways were definitely not like hers—they were better. Bailey shares some of her darkest moments and how, in spite of it all, her life has been more fulfilled when she follows God’s plan. Come along with Bailey to explore how God can direct your future to be more amazing than you could have ever dreamed. Endorsements In her book, Unforeseen, Bailey Lynn is very vulnerable and shares stories to display how God has showed up in her life. I love her writing style and the reflection questions at the end of each chapter. If you need some encouragement and prompting to draw closer to God, this book is for you! Leslie Speas Author of From Hot Mess to MESSage: 90 Days of Messages for the Hot Mess in You and blogger at www.lesliespeas.com Unforeseen is an authentically written book that deepens our walk with God as we learn from Bailey’s keen ability to draw spiritual insight from unusual places. Bailey helps us see Jesus through her life’s journey—whether breaking in a horse, being in a mirror maze, or dealing with a dog with pink eye. Readers will love reading and learning from the stories in this book as they find hope in the midst of their own unforeseen circumstances. Heather Holleman Author of Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison Real, honest, and vulnerable, Bailey Lynn offers insight into the valleys of life and what to do when you find yourself in one. Through her soulful writing, Bailey affirms the realities of doubt, confusion, and unanswered questions when life hits hard and situations blindside you. Through Bailey’s stories in Unforeseen: Learning to Trust in God’s Plan When Life Takes Unexpected Turns, you can once again discover purpose and tools to restructure your perspective based on a scriptural foundation. You will be challenged with questions that only you can answer for yourself. This book is practical, inspiring, and deeply spiritual. DeAnna Lynn Sanders Author of Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life with your Neighbors and the Nations

Spending a quiet Christmas housesitting and reading novels about hot cowboys sounds perfect to Caitlin. Until a stray kitten brings her face-to-face with Noah, her crush from college. Watching the handsome vet in action melts Caitlin's heart and brings back long forgotten emotion. She would be safer back at the house lost in the pages of a book. But a toe-curling mistletoe kiss tempts her to stay. Maybe she won't be spending this Christmas... alone. Veterinarian Noah Sullivan isn't a Scrooge, but the Christmas Eve tradition of hanging mistletoe in the clinic's waiting room annoys him. Kissing doesn't belong at the Copper Mountain Animal Hospital. Noah rethinks his position when Caitlin Butler arrives with a stray kitten she found freezing in the snow. All he wants now is to maneuver the pretty preschool teacher under the mistletoe. If he's not careful, he'll wind up on Santa's naughty list. Mistletoe Magic is a short story companion to the Copper Mountain Christmas series.

"My American Harp" presents 1,169 poems written 2010-2014 by Surazeus that explore what it means to be an American in the modern world of an interconnected global civilization.

Lenzkes offers a reflective, hope-filled devotional guide for those who seek comfort in the face of loss and grief. Brief, meditative devotions consider the many aspects of loss and speak compassionately to grieving hearts, while offering God-centered solutions.

How do you make a few thousand people disappear out from under the eyes of their enemies? With a little help from friends, some magic and a little bit of luck. Facing an invasion of forces determined to wipe his people from the face of the earth Benjamin must use all his wits, his new friend Letaine's secret knowledge and his father's magic in order to find a way to save his family, friends and people.

Your Life A motivational and inspirational revolution that will show you how to release the power within you.