Religion & Spirituality

New York Times Bestseller  Read by the author. Jinger Vuolo, the sixth child in the famous Duggar family of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, recounts how she began to question the unhealthy ideology of her youth and learned to embrace true freedom in Christ. When Jinger Duggar Vuolo was growing up, she was convinced that obeying the rules was the key to success and God's favor. She zealously promoted the Basic Life Principles of Bill Gothard, fastidiously obeying the modesty guidelines (no shorts or jeans, only dresses), eagerly submitting to the umbrella of authority (any disobedience of parents would place her outside God's protection),  promoting the relationship standard of courtship, and avoiding any music with a worldly beat, among others.   Jinger, along with three of her sisters, wrote a New York Times bestseller about their religious convictions. She believed this level of commitment would guarantee God's blessing, even though in private she felt constant fear that she wasn't measuring up to the high standards demanded of her. In Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger shares how in her early twenties, a new family member—a brother-in-law who didn't grow up in the same tight-knit conservative circle as Jinger—caused her to examine her beliefs. He was committed to the Bible, but he didn't believe many of the things Jinger had always assumed were true. His influence, along with the help of a pastor named Jeremy Vuolo, caused Jinger to see that her life was built on rules, not God's Word. Jinger committed to studying the Bible—truly understanding it—for the first time. What resulted was an earth-shaking realization: much of what she'd always believed about God, obedience to His Word, and personal holiness wasn't in-line with what the Bible teaches. Now with a renewed faith of personal conviction, Becoming Free Indeed shares what it was like living under the tenants of Bill Gothard, the Biblical truth that changed her perspective, and how she disentangled her faith with her belief in Jesus intact.

Read by the author. Life-Changing Spiritual and Practical Strategies for True Transformation. Nothing is more frustrating than knowing you need to change and trying to change, but failing to change. You feel stuck, no matter how hard you try. Craig Groeschel, author of Winning the War in Your Mind, knows what it's like to be caught in that cycle. That was his own story—until he discovered these practical and biblical principles for experiencing lasting change. In The Power to Change, Craig will help you find true change in your relationships, habits, and thoughts by unpacking: How God's power, not your willpower, leads to true transformation The real reasons you do what you do Why falling isn't failure The power of creating small habits that lead to big change How to choose what you want most over what you want now   A powerful blend of biblical wisdom and fascinating psychology, The Power to Change includes helpful exercises, real-life stories, and life-changing spiritual insights. Whether you are trying to lose weight, breathe new life into your marriage, read the Bible more, get out of debt, or give up an addiction, Craig's step-by-step, time-tested strategies will equip you to start living the life God wants for you. Exercises and appendix are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.  

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Featured on SUPER SOUL PODCAST hosted by Oprah Winfrey.   Read by the author. Too often we’ve been taught to view our emotions with suspicion, seeing them as something to be suppressed, managed, or mastered. This isn’t true. Emotions are not your enemy. Internal war is not your destiny. You were created to flourish.  In this game-changing book, trauma therapist and mental health expert Dr. Anita Phillips reveals how embracing emotion is the key to living your most powerful life. Just as gardens thrive in good ground, the abundant life you’ve been seeking can only be grown in the soil of your heart. Blending faith, the latest discoveries in neurobiology, and her own research and work as a licensed therapist, Dr. Anita shows you how to cultivate a state of emotional well-being that can: strengthen your body and reverse the effects of trauma,calm anxiety and renew your mind, andunleash a new level of spiritual power in your life. This book will equip you with the tools you need to nurture a part of yourself that has been misunderstood for too long — your heart — setting you free to live just as the Creator intended.  AUTHENTIC. FRUITFUL. POWERFUL Images and diagrams are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER For the first time, discover the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting. Jill Duggar and her husband Derick are finally ready to share their story, revealing the secrets, manipulation, and intimidation behind the show that remained hidden from their fans. Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn’t possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family’s way of life. She was the responsible, second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle’s nineteen kids; always with a baby on her hip and happy to wear the modest ankle-length dresses with throat-high necklines. She didn’t protest the strict model of patriarchy that her family followed, which declares that men are superior, that women are expected to be wives and mothers and are discouraged from attaining a higher education, and that parental authority over their children continues well into adulthood, even once they are married. But as Jill got older, married Derick, and they embarked on their own lives, the red flags became too obvious to ignore. For as long as they could, Jill and Derick tried to be obedient family members—they weren’t willing to rock the boat. But now they’re raising a family of their own, and they’re done with the secrets. Thanks to time, tears, therapy, and blessings from God, they have the strength to share their journey. Theirs is a remarkable story of the power of the truth and is a moving example of how to find healing through honesty.

An incredibly thoughtful, disarmingly funny, and intensely vulnerable glimpse into the life and ministry of a woman familiar to many but known by few. “It’s a peculiar thing, this having lived long enough to take a good look back. We go from knowing each other better than we know ourselves to barely sure if we know each other at all, to precisely sure that we don’t. All my knotted-up life I’ve longed for the sanity and simplicity of knowing who’s good and who’s bad. I’ve wanted to know this about myself as much as anyone. This was not theological. It was strictly relational. God could do what he wanted with eternity. I was just trying to make it here in the meantime. As benevolent as he has been in a myriad of ways, God has remained aloof on this uncomplicated request.” ―Beth Moore All My Knotted-Up Life is a beautifully crafted portrait of resilience and survival, a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.

Relationships are wonderful . . . until they're not. Stop the dysfunction of unhealthy relationships and learn biblical ways to set boundaries--and, when necessary, say goodbye. Is it unloving or selfish to set a boundary with family members or friends? Are Christians ever called to walk away from a relationship that’s no longer safe or sustainable? #1 New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst deeply understands these hard questions in the midst of relational struggles. After thousands of hours of counseling intensives and extensive theological research that transformed the way she defined healthy relationships, Lysa is now more committed than ever to loving people well without losing the best of who she is. In these pages, Lysa will help you: Understand the five factors to remember when implementing healthy boundaries. Determine the appropriate amount of personal and emotional access someone has to you. Stop being misled and emotionally paralyzed by wrongly interpreted or weaponized Bible verses that perpetuate unhealthy relationships. Be equipped with effective boundary-setting tools, such as realistic scripts and practical strategies for healthier communication. Be empowered to say goodbye without guilt when a relationship has shifted from difficult to destructive. Receive therapeutic wisdom you can trust directly from Lysa’s Christian counselor Jim Cress, who weighs in throughout the book. You'll be relieved to learn that boundaries aren't just a good idea, they're a God idea. Look for additional biblically based resources and devotionals from Lysa:  Forgiving What You Can't Forget It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Uninvited You're Going to Make It Embraced Seeing Beautiful Again

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Imagine if all the worn-out, untrue, painful chapters of our lives started to quiet, and the beautiful, unique pieces of who we are were to rise. Imagine if the stories we tell brought us back to our true selves, back to one another. Imagine if they spoke of how we loved and lost and tried our best. How we saw it all, even the parts that hurt. Joanna Gaines' new book, The Stories We Tell, invites us on an authentic and deeply vulnerable journey into her story—and helps shine a light on the beauty of our own—guiding us to release the weights that hold us back so we may live and share our story in truth. We've all dropped anchor in places that suited us for a time: a city, a perspective, a lie we mistook as truth. This book is an invitation to a kind of life where you know how to hold what you believe—about yourself and the quiet worlds behind the people you pass—with gracious and open hands. To see your story as greater than any past or future thing, but for all the beauty and joy and hope it holds today. It’s an invitation to take stock of the chapters you’ve lived—the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly—glean what’s gold, and carry only that forward. Let it slow your feet and steady your life-in-motion so you can see where you stand today from a new point of view. No longer through weary or uncertain eyes, but a lens brimming with hope. ————— "The only way to break free was to rewrite my story. Because something would happen every time my pen stopped: It was like my soul was coming back to my body. Like the deepest parts of me that got knocked around and drowned out by all the crap I let the world convince me about who I was came back to the surface. And what was left was only what was real and true. I was, finally, standing in the fullness of my story. I felt hopeful. I felt full. Our story may crack us open, but it also pieces us back together. We all have a story to tell. This happens to be mine—every chapter a window into who I am, the journey I’m on, and the season I’m in right now. Because this is my story, maybe you won’t always relate, or maybe it will feel like you’re looking in a mirror. Whatever we have in common and whatever differences lie between us, I only hope my story can help shine a light on the beauty of yours. That my own soul work will stir something of your own. And that by the time you get to the end of my story, you’re also holding the beautiful beginnings of your own. A story only you can tell. And I hope that you will." -Joanna

An authentic exploration of the real Rumi As one of the world's most loved poets, Rumi's poems are celebrated for their message of love and their beauty, but too often they are stripped of their mystical and spiritual meanings. The Gift of Rumi offers a new reading of Rumi, contextualizing his work against the broader backdrop of Islamic mysticism and adding a richness and authenticity that is lacking in many Westernized conceptions of his work. Author Emily Jane O'Dell has studied Sufism both academically, in her work and research at Harvard, Columbia, and the American University of Beirut, and in practice, learning from a Mevlevi master and his whirling dervishes in Istanbul. She weaves this expertise throughout The Gift of Rumi, sharing a new vision of Rumi’s classic work. At the heart of Rumi’s mystical poetry is the “religion of love” which transcends all religions. Through his majestic verses of ecstasy and longing, Rumi invites us into the religion of the heart and guides us to our own loving inner essence. The Gifts of Rumi gives us a key to experiencing this profound and powerful invitation, allowing readers to meet the master in a new way.

The world has never been more distracting—joy has never been more possible. You live with a massive amount of distraction: desperate headlines smartphone scrolling an endless to-do list Not to mention the nagging questions of your heart: Am I making the right decision? Am I with the right person? Will my past mistakes keep me from my best future? Through the pithy and inspiring storytelling that has endeared him to millions, New York Times bestselling author Bob Goff invites you to laugh with more gusto, dream with more confidence, and love with more intention in this disarming call to live Undistracted. Bob’s stories are like the rumble strips on the road that make you suddenly alert to how far you have drifted from your lane. From visiting friends in San Quentin to accidentally getting into a stalker’s car at the airport to establishing Uganda’s first space program, Bob shows you the way back to an audaciously attentive life. Your undistracted life is an adventure waiting to happen. What stories will you live with undistracted purpose and unstoppable joy?

Never has this book been more timely. Religious intolerance, the resurgence of fundamentalism, hate crimes, repressive laws, and mass shootings are pervasive in today’s world. Selina O’Grady asks how and why our societies came to be as tolerant or intolerant as they are; whether tolerance can be expected to heal today’s festering wound between Islam and the post-Christian West; or whether something deeper than tolerance is needed. From Umar, the seventh century Islamic caliph who led what became the greatest empire the world has ever known, to King John (of Magna Carta fame) who almost converted to Islam; from Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who created the religious-military alliance with the House of Saud that still survives today, to the bloody Thirty Years’ War that cured Europe of murderous intra-Christian violence (but probably killed God in the process), Selina O’Grady takes the reader through the intertwined histories of the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faiths. In the Name of God is an original and thought-provoking history of monotheistic religions and their ever-shifting relationship with each other. 

Peace is always possible, even in the midst of a storm. By sharing a meditation for each day of the year, author Karen Casey speaks to the common experience, shared struggles, and unique strengths of those who seek support and spiritual growth in recovery. Featuring daily inspirational quotes about finding peace and honoring love, this positive thinking book offers the perfect touchstone at this crucial time in history—a time when millions are seeking quiet moments and mindful meditation. Today can open the door to a new way of living. Love can be a powerful influence in our lives. It’s the total absence of judgment. It’s pure acceptance. It is the inner voice reminding us that all is well and God is present, right here and right now. The overwhelming peace we feel is all the evidence we need of God’s constancy. The expression of love quiets our minds and we are flooded with inner peace. How much gentler our lives would be if we dispensed with all expressions but love. But we don’t live in a world that truly values peace. What if we can turn away from constant judgment and offer love instead, in every situation? If you’re looking for inspirational books, mindful gifts, quotes about thinking positive, or mindfulness books for adults—or enjoyed books like A Year of Positive Thinking and 5-Minute Daily Meditations—then you’ll love Each Day a Renewed Beginning.

*I'll Start Again Monday is a newly revised and condensed version of Lysa's bestseller Made to Crave.* Have healthy eating plans left you feeling defeated? Based on her bestseller Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst offers a new perspective to all those stuck in the cycle of losing weight and then gaining it back, equipping you with the deeper spiritual and emotional motivation you need to make lasting changes. So often we characterize our food cravings as bad, especially when dieting has made us feel even more disappointed and discouraged. But the reality is we were made to crave. We just need to realize God created us to crave more of Him instead of misplacing that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures and unhealthy choices that will never truly satisfy. In the midst of her own personal struggle with this, New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst invites us to embrace a new outlook that leads to enduring change. In this newly revised and condensed version of Made to Crave, Lysa encourages you to: Break the cycle of "I'll start again Monday" and start taking steps toward consistency that lasts Stop agonizing over numbers on the scale and make peace with your body Replace rationalizations that lead to failure with wisdom that leads to victory Reach your healthy goals and grow closer to God through the process This is not a "how-to" book. This is not the latest and greatest dieting plan. This is the necessary resource to use alongside whatever healthy lifestyle plan you choose that will help you find your "want to" and lead to a spiritual satisfaction that goes far beyond the physical. Look for additional biblically-based resources and devotionals from Lysa: Forgiving What You Can't Forget It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Uninvited You're Going to Make It Embraced

A “humane, thoughtful, and intelligent” (The New York Times Book Review) bestselling Biblical scholar reveals why our popular understanding of the Apocalypse is all wrong—and why that matters. You’ll find nearly everything the Bible says about the end in the Book of Revelation: a mystifying prophecy filled with bizarre symbolism, violent imagery, mangled syntax, confounding contradictions, and very firm ideas about the horrors that await us all. But no matter what you think Revelation reveals—whether you read it as a literal description of what will soon come to pass, interpret it as a metaphorical expression of hope for those suffering now, or only recognize its highlights from pop culture—you’re almost certainly wrong. In Armageddon, acclaimed New Testament authority Bart D. Ehrman delves into the most misunderstood—and possibly most dangerous—book of the Bible, on a “vigilantly persuasive” (The Washington Post) tour through three millennia of Judeo-Christian thinking about how our world will end. With wit and verve, he explores the alarming social and political consequences of expecting an imminent apocalypse, considers whether the message of Revelation may be at odds with the teachings of Jesus, and offers inspiring insight into how to live in the face of an uncertain future. By turns hilarious, moving, troubling, and provocative, Armageddon is nothing short of revelatory in its account of what the Bible really says about the end.

Read by the author with an audiobook-exclusive conversation between Granger and his wife, Amber! New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, ECPA Bestseller 'Country music artist Smith debuts with a sensitive and moving recollection of his path through grief. . .In stark, intimate prose, the author candidly renders the realities of suffering while articulating a moving message of renewal. Those seeking a faith-based path through grief will find this instructive and affecting.' -- Publishers Weekly Like a River, a triumphant story of new life birthed out of tragedy, will teach readers how to face their failures, confront their pain, and connect with God—the true source of life. On June 4th, 2019, country music singer Granger Smith was enjoying a final evening with his kids before heading to Nashville for the CMT Music Awards and his next tour. While helping his daughter London with her gymnastics, his youngest son fell into their pool. Granger did everything he could to get to him, but he was too late. River drowned, and Granger's world shattered. The days, weeks, and months that followed River's death sent Granger on a dark and painful journey. Every time he closed his eyes, he replayed the horrific event in his mind, and every time he opened his computer, he was bombarded by the critique and criticism of people who blamed him for the accident. Despite his best effort to get back on stage with a smile and song, it was all a façade. On the inside he was dying. Fortunately, that's not how his story ended. And now he is compelled to help people all around the world find strength, peace, and hope on the other side of tragedy. Like a River, life is full of twists and turns. Like a River, people pollute our world with their critique and criticism. Like a River, tragic events keep us dammed up. But like a river, we can find the courage to keep moving downstream.   Rivers don't run on their own strength; they flow from their source. When we try to keep going on our own, we won't make it, but when we connect to the greater source, we will find the strength and the faith to keep living after loss. This triumphant story of new life birthed out of death will inspire every reader to live Like a River. Additional water safety resources, discussion questions, and photo insert are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Read by the author. #1 New York Times Bestseller Guthrie persuasively renders the evolution of a hard-won religious belief that makes room for imperfection and "does not require us to ignore... the sorrows we experience or the unjustness we see but to believe past it." This openhearted offering inspires. - Publishers Weekly Mostly what God does is love you. If we could believe this, really believe this, how different would we be? How different would our lives be? How different would our world be? If you ever struggle with your connection to God (or whether you even feel connected to a faith at all!), you're not alone. Especially in our modern world, with its relentless, never-ending news cycle, we can all grapple with such questions. Do we do that alone, with despair and resignation? Or do we make sense of it with God, and with hope? In these uncertain times, could believing in the power of divine love make the most sense? In this collection of essays, Savannah Guthrie shares why she believes it does. Unspooling personal stories from her own joys and sorrows as a daughter, mother, wife, friend, and professional journalist, the award-winning TODAY show coanchor and New York Times bestselling author explores the place of faith in everyday life. Sharing hard-won wisdom forged from mountaintop triumphs, crushing failures, and even the mundane moments of day-to-day living, Mostly What God Does reveals the transformative ways that belief in God helps us discover real hope for this life and beyond. A perfect companion to your morning cup of coffee, this incisive volume—not a memoir but a beautiful tapestry of reflections crafted as a spiritual manual—includes: a fresh, biblically rooted look at six essentials of faith: love, presence, grace, hope, gratitude, and purpose; an honest exploration of questions, doubts, and fears about the love of God; a dose of encouragement for the faith-full, the faith-curious, and the faith-less; and …and much more.   This deeply personal collection is designed to engage the practical ways that God loves you—not just the world, but you—and to inspire you to venture down a path of faith that is authentic, hopeful, destiny-shaping, and ultimately life-changing. The diagram can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download. 

"Readers will find abundant wisdom in this accessible guide."--Publishers Weekly In an era in which "resistance" has become tokenized, popular Indigenous author Kaitlin Curtice reclaims it as a basic human calling. Resistance is for every human who longs to see their neighbors' holistic flourishing. We each have a role to play in the world right where we are, and our everyday acts of resistance hold us all together. Curtice shows that we can learn to practice embodied ways of belonging and connection to ourselves and one another through everyday practices, such as getting more in touch with our bodies, resting, and remembering our ancestors. She explores four "realms of resistance"--the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral--and shows how these realms overlap and why all are needed for our liberation. Readers will be empowered to seek wholeness in whatever spheres of influence they inhabit.

Known to millions as simply "Sister Jean," the Loyola Chicago matriarch and college basketball icon invites you into her remarkable memoir filled with history, wonder, and common-sense wisdom for this century and beyond. As Sister Jean wisely says, "I've seen so many changes in the last 102 years, but the important things remain the same." Part life story, part philosophy text, and part spiritual guide, Sister Jean's wit, wisdom, and common sense has broad appeal and application that transcends religious creed, belief, and even feelings on Loyola's basketball team. Along with her collaborator Seth Davis, an award-winning writer, broadcaster and New York Times best-selling author, Wake Up with Purpose! lets you experience: Sister Jean's words and her spirit. her sharp sense of humor. life lessons gleaned from one hundred years of living. universal themes that connect us all. priceless wisdom. The driving force inside Wake Up with Purpose! is the narrative of Sister Jean's fascinating life--from teaching at a Catholic school during the Second World War to serving on a Chicago college campus in the sixties and beyond to cheering from the sidelines of a men's basketball tournament in March 2018. As you learn about Sister Jean's century-long life, you'll feel just like the Loyola students do when they knock on her office door, plop down in a chair, and ask if she would have time to chat, an activity that she still does daily.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author and “king of Christmas fiction” (The New York Times) delivers a charming and inspirational collection of personal essays. Before he was the #1 New York Times bestselling author of holiday classics such as The Christmas Box, Richard Paul Evans was a young boy being raised by a suicidal mother and dealing with relentless bullying. He could not fathom what the future held for him. Now, in this intimate and heartfelt collection of personal essays, Evans shares his moving journey from childhood to beloved author. With his signature “seasoned finesse” (Booklist), he offers the insightful lessons he’s learned and engaging advice about everything from marriage to parenthood and even facing near-death experiences. This is a charming essay collection that is the perfect gift all year round.

When everything we've been clinging to falls apart, how do we know what to keep and what to let go of? I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet, now a New York Times bestseller, is a clear-eyed look at where we go from here--and how we can transform our lives along the way. Just after her fortieth birthday, author Shauna Niequist found herself in a season of chaos, change, and loss unlike anything she'd ever faced. She discovered that many of the beliefs and practices that she usually turned to were no longer serving her. After trying--and failing--to pull herself back up using the same old strategies and systems, she realized she required new ones: courage, curiosity, and compassion. She discovered the way through was more about questions than answers, more about forgiveness than force, more about tenderness than trying hard. In I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet, Niequist chronicles her journey--from her life-changing move from the Midwest to Manhattan to the power of unlearning what is no longer helpful and accepting the unknowns that come with midlife, heartbreak, and chronic pain. With her characteristic candor and grace, Niequist writes about her experience learning how to: Discover new ways of living when the old ways stop working Embrace the challenges and delights of releasing our expectations for how we thought our lives would look Trust God's goodness in a deeper, more profound way Follow Niequist as she endeavors to understand grief, to reshape her faith, and to practice courage when it feels impossible. Praise for I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet: "Gentle. Loving. This tender book asks us to listen to our pain, lean into our discomfort, and trust that we can be lifted back on our feet by God and each other." --Kate C. Bowler, New York Times bestselling author of No Cure for Being Human "This book is a masterpiece. It is a journey and an invitation and a joy and a heartbreak and all the things you need to read to be reminded that hope can still be found." --Annie F. Downs, New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds Fun

Do you long for an intimate relationship with your Creator, but He seems elusive? Perhaps it is because something utterly essential is missing—the fear of the Lord. Don’t let this frighten you. Fearing God is very different than being afraid of God. It’s the key to everything. Holy Fear is not a topic you’ll hear much about these days. But if you want to build a faith that stands strong through troubled times, you cannot afford to ignore this book. In The Awe of God, John Bevere invites you to take a fresh look at what it means to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. This healthy, holy, and largely forgotten virtue is the uncommon path to a more fulfilled and fruitful spiritual life. In this book you will see why godly fear is the foundation of: Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge Foresight, clarity, and divine direction Maturity and conformity to the image of Jesus Christ Building an eternal legacy Confidence, fearlessness, and security Freedom from the fear of man as all lesser fears are eclipsed   If you look at the men and women in Scripture, the ones who lived and finish well all have one thing in common: they are marked by holy fear. The Awe of God was designed to be read slowly and intentionally, given its devotional format. At the end of each of the 42 chapters are five tools to help you deepen your understanding and apply what the Spirit of God is teaching you. With this compelling and convicting message, you can experience a revival in your relationship with God, whether you’re new to following Him or have walked with Him for most of your life.

Read by the author. Ever wonder if you’ve stumbled one too many times for God to use someone like you? Could you benefit from an encounter with God’s unending, unbending, unswerving love and devotion?  If your answer is yes, it’s time for you to see how God’s grace transformed Jacob’s life. And if you feel undeserving of God’s grace, this book will serve as a refresher course on God’s perfect plan to use imperfect people to do great things. God Never Gives Up on You is for the strugglers among us and the fumbler within us. For those of us who are part saint, part scoundrel; we mean well, but we don’t always do well. We have breakthroughs and breakdowns, often in the same hour. We need no reminder of our failures. But where can we find examples of God’s steadfast grace? No one is more suited to help assure you of God’s grace than Jacob. He was less a prodigy and more a prodigal. Strong on savvy. Weak on conscience. Jacob took advantage of his famished brother and pulled the wool over the eyes of his dying father, yet God never turned his back on Jacob. And he won’t turn his back on you. If you are ready to start counting on God’s grace and believe he never gives up on you, this book is for you. Discussion questions are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

In this timely, much-needed book, theologian, social psychologist, and activist Christena Cleveland recounts her personal journey to dismantle the cultural “whitemalegod” and uncover the Sacred Black Feminine, introducing a Black Female God who imbues us with hope, healing, and liberating presence. For years, Christena Cleveland spoke about racial reconciliation to congregations, justice organizations, and colleges. But she increasingly felt she could no longer trust in the God she’d been implicitly taught to worship—a white male God who preferentially empowered white men despite his claim to love all people. A God who clearly did not relate to, advocate for, or affirm a Black woman like Christena.  Her crisis of faith sent her on an intellectual and spiritual journey through history and across France, on a 400-mile walking pilgrimage to the ancient shrines of Black Madonnas to find healing in the Sacred Black Feminine. God Is a Black Woman is the chronicle of her liberating transformation and a critique of a society shaped  by white patriarchal Christianity and culture. Christena reveals how America’s collective idea of God as a white man has perpetuated hurt, hopelessness, and racial and gender oppression. Integrating her powerful personal story, womanist ideology, as well as theological, historical, and social science research, she invites us to take seriously the truth that God is not white nor male and gives us a new and hopeful path for connecting with the divine and honoring the sacredness of all Black people.

God always keeps His promises, but not always in the way we expect…. “Have faith” is a phrase we hear all the time. But what does it actually look like to live it out? In The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak, Shannon Bream examines the lives of biblical women to see how God’s plans can turn our worlds upside down. She tells the story of Jochebed, a mother who took enormous risks to protect her son, Moses, from Pharaoh. Could Jochebed have imagined that God’s actual design for her son involved flight into exile and danger? And yet this was all part of the master plan to deliver Israel from slavery. Another biblical mother, Rebekah, made terrible choices in an attempt to ensure her son’s place in history. And a daughter, Michal, struggled to keep her faithless father, Saul, from sin, while battling pride in herself. Through these stories, Shannon explains the intimate connection between faith and family—and how God’s unexpected agenda can redefine the way we think about family. Not all of these mothers and daughters in the Bible were paragons of virtue. Like us, they were human beings who faltered and struggled to do their best. While some heard God’s voice, others chose their own paths. Through the lens of their imperfections, we can see how God used their stories to bring about His divine plans. He’s still doing the same work in our lives today. The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak shows that faith is more often a twisting road than a straight line. Yet, as the stories of biblical families attest, at the end of these journeys lies greater peace and joy than we could ever imagine. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Read by the author. Beloved author and Bible teacher Michele Cushatt offers ten practices to strengthen your confidence in God's daily presence and power and build a faith strong enough to endure even the toughest seasons. Life can be hard. Although there are moments of beauty and goodness, more often than not, life is marked by fear, struggle, disappointment, and loss. And we don't know what to do with it. We've tried to find hope and security in various people and places--but each has proved unworthy of our trust. We need more. Something--or Someone--who won't fail us when our world falls apart. In this book, beloved author and Bible teacher Michele Cushatt presents a better way. By exploring powerful personal, historical, and biblical stories of people of extraordinary faith, she curates and shares ten practices to help you deepen your confidence and certainty in the God who can be trusted with your worry, questions, confusion, and grief. As a woman who has been through immeasurable suffering, she writes with both deep compassion and practical insight as she guides you to: Practice lament and process grief without guilt or shame Understand what keeps you from trusting God and how to navigate doubt with truth Learn simple ways to foster shalom and gratitude on a daily basis Develop a fresh, eternal perspective that delivers both peace for today and hope for tomorrow Savor daily "faith-builder" practices to strengthen your confidence in God's love and purposes for you, no matter what happens   There is hope in your hardship and a God who is both with you and for you. These ten practices point the way to the only One you can truly trust, and ultimately, to a faith in him that will not fail.  

Grammy Award–nominated artist Kem shares his life in this “breathtaking” (Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestselling author) and revealing memoir tracing his transformative journey from homelessness to gold-selling artist. Known for his smooth, affecting crooning and dapper style, Kem’s journey to the stage is nothing short of inspiring. In Share My Life, Kem goes back to the very beginning before his time to introduce his grandmother, who worked as a sharecropper in the South and had thirteen children. As Kem’s family rises from the sharecropping and ultimately lands in Detroit, there is an unspoken mantra of “hard things are better left unsaid,” which has devastating consequences down the line. And so, Kem grows up in the midst of an impenetrable silence. His mother is never without a beer in her hand, and his relationship with his father is oddly tense. Emotionally starved, Kem internalizes harmful feelings, eventually spiraling to drug use in his search for relief. At nineteen, Kem is homeless, roaming the cold Detroit streets. In the overly bright AA halls, Kem comes across men like himself verbalizing their feelings. The meetings helped him discover his own voice, using music as an outlet that has since touched millions. In Share My Life, Kem chronicles his “revelatory, moving, and inspirational” (Lisa Cortés, Academy Award–nominated and Emmy Award–winning producer and director) journey of self-discovery. The young boy who struggled with feelings of worthlessness becomes a man willing to put everything on the line for his dream.

Fasting for Ramadan is structured as a chronicle of daily meditations, during two cycles of the 30-day rite of daytime abstinence required by Ramadan for purgation and prayer. Estranged in certain ways from his family’s cultural traditions when he was younger, Ali has in recent years re-embraced the Ramadan ritual, and brings to this rediscovery an extraordinary delicacy of reflection, a powerfully inquiring mind, and the linguistic precision and ardor of a superb poet.

A single life is a life worth living--and it's worth living well God has a great life all planned out for you. What you may not realize if you're single is that you're already living it. Right now. Today. Your God-designed life doesn't start when you say "I do" or when you get engaged or even when you meet "the one." It's been happening as long as you've been alive--even if you're still single and wish you weren't. Hannah Schermerhorn knows exactly what it's like. She was months away from getting married when her wedding was called off. She absolutely loathed being single again, but in the following years, God taught her many hard lessons that transformed her bitterness to authentic joy. Drawing from the diverse experiences of single people in the Bible, Hannah debunks common myths and misunderstandings about singleness, including the pervasive feeling that a person can't really begin their life until they're married. If you are lonely, hopeless, or impatient, let Hannah be your guide through the internal battles and external pressures you're facing. God has a special purpose for singleness, whether it lasts for only a season or your whole life. Let Hannah help you discover God's best for you in your single life.

An award-winning historian of religion examines the role a “messiah” plays in Western culture, from its pre-Christian roots to modern interpretations of a savior. Over the centuries, people have longed for a messiah, whether a religious figure such as Jesus, a political leader, or even in popular culture. The messianic quest emerges most acutely during difficult times when people experience a sense of powerlessness and desperation. But the concept of a messiah—a savior—has its root in the writings of ancient Judaism and early Christianity, evolving from an anointed leader to universal savior. Wilson turns to a little understood pre-Christian text, “The Psalms of Solomon,” which set the stage for messianic expectation just prior to the birth of Jesus. Known today only to a handful of scholars—in marked contrast to the “Song of Solomon”—these important pslams were composed not by a King, but by a devout 1st century BCE Jew who witnessed terrible atrocities under brutal Roman rule. This crucial work encourages us to ask: what is a messiah? Who is a messiah? How would we recognized one should he or she appear? And what is a messiah supposed to do? In his own lifetime, Jesus directed his followers to search for “the messiah within” in his parables. Later, Paul changed the concept of “the messiah,” to “the Christ,” when presenting his message to Gentiles instead of Jews. Jesus was no longer a Jewish messiah but a Hellenistic divine avatar. In Searching for the Messiah, Wilson reveals how this collective search for messiahs throughout modern human history has been fundamentally flawed. Jesus himself rejected the idea of an external fixer, instead formulating his teachings to focus on the role of the individual, their choices, and their actions. Searching for the Messiah is revelatory and illuminating work of scholarship that will challenge and inspire.

This program is read by the author. "Everyone who claims to be 'Christian' or else claims to be upset by 'Christianity' needs to read this book, especially politicians using people's supposed faith for their own ends." —Margaret E. Atwood "Jim Wallis calls the nation to grow up and he calls us all to fight the love battle to save the soul of America." —From the Foreword by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. A major new work by the New York Times bestselling author, arguing that the answer to bad religion is true faith that will help refound democracy It is time says Jim Wallis, to call out genuine faith—specifically the “Christian” in White Christian Nationalism—inviting all who can be persuaded to reject and help dismantle a false gospel that propagates white supremacy and autocracy. We need–to raise up the faith of all of us, and help those who are oblivious, stuck, and captive to the ideology and idolatry of White Christian Nationalism that is leading us to such great danger. Wallis turns our attention to six iconic texts at the heart of what genuine biblical faith means and what Jesus, in the gospels, has called us to do. It is time to ask anew: do we believe these teachings or not? This book isn’t only for Christians but for all faith traditions, and even those with no faith at all. When we see a civic promotion of fear, hate, and violence for the trajectory of our politics, we need a civic faith of love, healing, and hope to defeat it. And that must involve all of us–religious or not. Learning to practice a politics of neighbor love will be central to the future of democracy in America. And more than ever, the words of Jesus ring, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press Essentials.

Audiobook read by Stephen Colbert and Father John Quigley For the first time, Pope Francis tells the story of his life as he looks back on the momentous world events that have changed history—from his earliest years during the outbreak of World War II in 1939 to the turmoil of today.  An extraordinary personal and historical journey, Life is the story of a man and a world in dramatic change. Pope Francis recalls his life through memories and observations of the most significant occurrences of the past eight decades. The book opens with three-year-old Jorge in the kitchen with his mother in Argentina as World War II breaks out, and he goes on to witness several historic events:         the fall of the Berlin Wall        Videla’s coup in Argentina        the moon landing in 1969        and even the 1986 World Cup in which Maradona scored the unforgettable “hand of God” goal. Here are the frank assessments and intimate insights of a pastor reflecting on the Nazi extermination of the Jews, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the 2001 terrorist attack on America and the collapse of the Twin Towers, the great economic recession of 2008, the Covid-19 pandemic, the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, and the subsequent conclave that elected him Pontiff. The “pope callejero” recounts these world-changing moments with the candor and compassion that distinguishes him, and offers important messages on major crises confronting us now, including social inequalities, climate change, international war, atomic weapons, racial discrimination, and the battles over social and cultural issues. Translated from the Italian by Aubrey Botsford