TobyMac Challenges Readers to Take Action Through true stories of people who have stepped across lines--lines of discrimination, persecution, prejudice, bitterness, and despair--City on Our Knees challenges readers to take their own steps out of their comfort zones in order to be used by God.

The Piper family is steeped in secrets, lies, and unspoken truths. At the eye of the storm is one secret that threatens to shake their lives -- even destroy them. Set on stormy Cape Breton Island off Nova Scotia, Fall on Your Knees is an internationally acclaimed multigenerational saga that chronicles the lives of four unforgettable sisters. Theirs is a world filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Compellingly written, by turns menacingly dark and hilariously funny, this is an epic tale of five generations of sin, guilt, and redemption.

Caring for your pastor and the difference it makes. Caring for your pastor and the difference it makes. What do you think about your pastor? Do you chew over his sermons and wonder if they are clear and helpful? Do you feel he spends enough time with you? In fact, do you ever catch yourself wondering what he does all day? The truth is, often we think, "What can my pastor do for me?" Far less often do we think, "What can I do for my pastor?" Seasoned former pastor, Christopher Ash, urges church members to think about pastors not just in terms of what they do €“ how they lead and pray and preach and teach and so on €“ but about who they are. He encourages us to remember that pastors are people and to pray for them as they serve us. Paradoxically, caring for our pastor will be a blessing to us as well as to them, and create a culture of true fellowship in our church family.

Growing up, John Robinson never considered himself an inspiration to others. He was born a congenital amputee and stands three foot eight as an adult. Although he has no extension of his arms or legs, he has not been limited in his career or in his personal life. After graduating from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he went on to work for NBC affiliates in upstate New York and today is the director of corporate support for WMHT, the public broadcasting television station in Albany. Robinson’s success did not come easily. From learning how to dress himself after going away to college, to making new friends and feeling accepted, he struggled to come to terms with his disability and make a life on his own. Although his journey may not be considered “normal,” he does not see this as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to succeed and to understand the meaning of responsibility. Robinson writes in an honest, personal voice, showing that a disability does not have to get in the way of an education, a career, a family, or one of his favorite hobbies, golf. Get Off Your Knees is a touching story and, as Robinson says, is for “anyone who feels they need inspiration, whether it be an individual with a mental or physical disability, parents of children with disabilities, or someone looking to overcome an obstacle in life.”

"Building from the stories in Under God, each of the readings opens with Scripture and presents a theme illustrated in the lives and events of our country's past"--Provided by publisher.

“The problem was, because Purity is an idol (a validated and worshiped idol), I didn’t know who or what I’d be without my totem. My Christianity depended on Purity.” Going to a conservative Christian church when she was young, Brenda Marie Davies heard a consistent message—save yourself for marriage—that instilled in her fear and shame about sex. But after moving to Los Angeles at nineteen and finding herself suddenly exposed to a world far outside her comfort zone, she was forced to wrestle with the power and perversity of Christian purity culture. On Her Knees chronicles Brenda’s spiritual journey over the course of a decade in LA, through marriage, divorce, unlikely friendship, and sexual exploration. Through it all, she began tearing down the false idol of purity while refusing to abandon her faith. Told with raw honesty, sans obligatory shame, this is a story for anyone who wonders if it’s possible to love God without fearing sex, in all its shades of grey.

A brash, bawdy, and downright ballsy ode to the ups and downs of life and love, On My Knees opens with Periel Aschenbrand - still reeling from a breakup with her long - time boyfriend - chain - smoking her days away on a plastic - covered couch and watching reruns of Law and Order while she squats in her dead grandmother's apartment in the East Village. Armed with her wicked wit and a motley cast of characters that includes her hovering Jewish mother, an eccentric uncle, and her neurotic best friend/wingwoman, Aschenbrand embarks on a Dante - esque journey through the many rings of single - girl hell involving crazy one - night stands; an unhealthy attachment to a dental hygienist; a run - in with Philip Roth; and, in the end, a trip to Israel and an encounter with the man who just might be the one. Hysterical and heartfelt, On My Knees traces Periel's attempt to rebuild her life, her relationships, and her trademark confidence in a story so riotous it would make Chelsea Handler blush.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Friday Night Lights, the heart-wrenching and hilarious true story of an American city on its knees and a man who will do anything to save it. A Prayer for the City is acclaimed journalist Buzz Bissinger's true epic of Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell, an utterly unique, unorthodox, and idiosyncratic leader willing to go to any length for the sake of his city: take unions head on, personally lobby President Clinton to save 10,000 defense jobs, or wrestle Smiley the Pig on Hot Dog Day—all the while bearing in mind the eternal fickleness of constituents whose favor may hinge on a missed garbage pick-up or an overzealous meter maid. It is also the story of citizens in crisis: a woman fighting ceaselessly to give her great-grandchildren a better life, a father of six who may lose his job at the Navy Shipyard, and a policy analyst whose experiences as a crime victim tempt her to abandon her job and ideals. "Fascinating, humane" (The New Yorker) and alive with detail and insight, A Prayer for the City describes the rare combination of political courage and optimism that may be the only hope for America's urban centers.

Audriana Escobar, aka Audi, is the 18-year-old leader of the Gucci Girlz−a crew made up of her closest friends. Growing up in poverty, their only current goal is to find a way out of the poor town of Aetna and achieve a life of happiness, love, and luxury. When they cross paths with another crew named the Tru Aetna Boyz, all of their wants and desires seem to be coming true. DeAndre, aka Dre, leads the team that includes his friends Raheem, Devonte and Lyrical and, together, they make up one of the most dangerous gangs in their hometown. With their intentions set on gaining money, status, women and fame, meeting a group of women with the same goals in mind seems like the best kind of luck. Sparks fly almost immediately and, together, they quickly become a force that totally dominates the street game without competition or resistance... until they catch the eye of police sergeant, Naomi Mills. Pursuing money and love always comes with its own set of troubles, which the Gucci Girlz and Tru Aetna Boyz eventually realize on their own. As they begin to step into the lives that they always envisioned for themselves, everything is turned upside down when they become the trophy for a sergeant with a chip on her shoulder. Will they be able to step into their dream of luxury and true love?

When Jesus asked us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and visit the imprisoned, he didn’t mean it literally, right? Kerry Weber, a modern, young, single woman in New York City sets out to see if she can practice the Corporal Works of Mercy in an authentic, personal, meaningful manner while maintaining a full, robust, regular life. Weber, a lay Catholic, explores the Works of Mercy in the real world, with a gut-level honesty and transparency that people of urban, country, and suburban locales alike can relate to. Mercy in the City is for anyone who is struggling to live in a meaningful, merciful way amid the pressures of “real life.” For those who feel they are already overscheduled and too busy, for those who assume that they are not “religious enough” to practice the Works of Mercy, for those who worry that they are alone in their efforts to live an authentic life, Mercy in the City proves that by living as people for others, we learn to connect as people of faith.