In her memoir Unmothered, popular blogger and speaker Phylis Mantelli takes the reader on her roller-coaster journey of life with her alcoholic and narcissistic mother.Phylis and her two siblings never know what to expect from their mom. The mom who bakes homemade chocolate chip cookies with hugs and smiles, or a raging, screaming mother who mocks and belittles them. The mom who cooks dinner, says a Hail Mary, and promises she'll do better, or the drunk mother who brings men home from bars and leads them to her daughters' room to show them off. Phylis just wants a mom who loves her, who wants the best for her, but that mom rarely makes an appearance.Though it breaks her heart to leave her baby sister behind, Phylis moves out of her mother's house as soon as she's able, hoping one day she'll find the family of her dreams. What she discovers are more nightmares. Through it all, God never stops his pursuit of Phylis, and though she'd like nothing more than to turn her back on her mother, every time her mom reaches out, Phylis takes her hand. By God's grace, Phylis eventually breaks through the pain and replaces it with a heart of a daughter who loves her mom unconditionally. Unmothered is a surprising memoir that offers hope and encouragement to those struggling with dysfunctional family relationships.
Do you trust God with the fabric of your life, or are you looking up through your circumstances and seeing only the lumpy, bumpy, in-progress underside? It's a struggle, sure, but you can trust that God sees the finished work-the whole, flawless, beautiful masterpiece of His plan for your life.A Seamless Life: Resting in God's Plan for You is a thoughtful devotional of the sovereign, seamless nature of our God. Nothing happens by accident. We can rest assured that God is working all things together for our good and His glory. Every moment, every experience, every need, and every desire we encounter is part of His intricate design.In sharing her own spiritual struggles and experience, author Lyndie Metz encourages readers to trust God's promises, to seek discernment in life decisions, and to surrender to His will. Victory is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Fulfillment comes with the surrender of our will to His perfect plan. Let go and rest. God knows the end from the beginning, and He's weaving the threads of your life into a seamless work of art.
Trust God is a book of poetry written for those who are discouraged, wounded, cursed, oppressed, lonely, doubtful, fear-hearted, sick, abused, despised, rejected, and neglected. Be encouraged, inspired, enlightened and guided to trust God in every area of your life. There are times in our lives when we go through trials and tribulations and there seems to be no solution.   When you are burdened, beat down, sick, afflicted, hated, deceived, betrayed, scorned, tempted by the enemy, and doubtful that you can even trust God, trust Him even then, because He is able to come to your aid.   Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).      Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. (Psalms 37:3)
The twenty-first century Church has the same Holy Spirit power and many more modern-day resources than the first century Church, yet the first century Church had greater success in making disciples. Why? They followed the plan Jesus gave them, and He blessed it. But the more worldly progress we’ve made, the more we’ve deviated from Jesus’s plan by choosing programs, entertainment, and socials with only surface-level encounters. We neglect to make a connection with the lost, and they see no real commitment from the church. So they come and go as we continue to meet and plan more programs. To end the cycle, we must go and make disciples as Jesus taught—investing our lives in the lives of others. Do you long to live the Great Commission and make disciples, but you’re not sure how? In Be a Disciple, Make a Disciple, Ellie Littleton offers biblical examples and concepts that break down the hard work of discipleship into sixteen thought-provoking lessons. So go and make disciples. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8 niv). “As the Lord’s earthly ministry got under way, He began by making disciples and never stopped until He ascended into heaven. Had the disciples not followed His example, we would not be disciples of Jesus today. As Ellie’s pastor, I’ve seen her live out the principles she teaches in this book. I highly recommend this book to all Christians, so we can all follow Jesus’s command to make disciples.”—Rev. David Warren, South Shelby Baptist Church, Shelby, Alabama
Author Marsha Mansour says that "courage is a position of the heart," but she knows not every leader feels courageous. With over twenty-eight years in the trenches of ministry, leadership is in Marsha's DNA, and she desires to infuse the church with godly leaders. Yet being a good leader is more than just managing a ministry. To be a good leader is to be an effective leader, dedicated to serving God as you empower others to carry on the ministry. If you desire to see power in your sphere of leadership influence, The Courage to Lead is for you. In this passionate epistle to leaders, you will learn how to develop a deeper relationship with God and invest in others for the advancement of the Kingdom. Armed with principle-based leadership keys, you will know how to lead so that your life is in tune with the fruits of the Spirit. Packed with loads of encouragement through Scripture, prayers, and engaging examples from the author's own experiences, this resource empowers you on your own journey to avoid taking the easy way out, and instead, to lead with courage.
Hidden just beneath the surface of Mary's unique calling to serve as the mother of Christ lies an equally captivating story of her journey of faith. Sometimes when our plans are derailed or we encounter struggles, our faith is the only thing we have to draw upon. Trusting God through those hard times is the bedrock of what will keep us grounded. But what happens when fear creeps in? Perhaps that's what it was like for the virgin Mary when Gabriel came to her with news that she was highly favored and chosen to bear the Christ child. Drawing parallels from her own journey-of-faith life experiences and the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Amy C. O'Reilly offers encouragement and inspiration to readers who seek to strengthen and move forward from fear to faith just as Mary did. With Luke 2 and 1 Corinthians 13 as reference points, readers will connect their faith in ways that bind them to love and hope in the person of Jesus Christ. While your circumstance may differ from Mary's, the similar deepening of faith through heartache and suffering and hope and triumph will inspire you in your identity, calling, and destiny in Christ.
When the harsh realities of life stare us hard in the face, we have two choices: buckle or break free. But when something like depression or addiction wields ugly power, sometimes it's difficult to know what to do. Perhaps this is you. Author Yvonne Grant has stood where you now stand. For eleven years, Yvonne battled addiction and depression and the life struggles that come because of them. After her deliverance, two people in different parts of the world offered her a prophetic word: "The lessons you have learned are not just for you. Others need what you have been given. You are to write a book and give what you have learned to others for their freedom."Transformed: Keys for Your Supernatural Journey to Freedom reveals the spiritual realm and the warfare we encounter and the challenges we face, including fear, anxiety, depression, and addiction. You will discover God's intervening love, His power to break the chains of bondage, and His salvation that sets the captive free. Bonus features include actionable, affirming takeaway keys with biblical freedom comparisons that will help you know you are not alone in your struggle. You can indeed be transformed.
Draw closer to God. Revel in the knowledge that you are saved by grace, not works. Discover how Paul addressed the Galatian people when they veered from the truth back into bondage to the rules and customs of their time.This Bible study takes you verse by verse through the book of Galatians, with insights into what occurred so many years ago yet is still relevant today. Bringing home the truth that we don't have to perform a certain way to be accepted as heirs to Christ, Letter from Paul offers relief to those who feel pressured to live by the world's standards.You will be refreshed and renewed as you lean into the fact that God loves you just as you are. Yes, He has given us the commandments, but He doesn't pile additional rules on us that we can't possibly follow. Instead, He gives us grace. And mercy. And love."Galatians is about the difference between salvation by works and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not about obeying all the rules versus having a good time. It is about a personal relationship with our Creator and Savior." -Mary Weins
Do you struggle with letting go of the past? Do you need encouragement and answers for your pain? Or do you long to meet someone who understands what you’re going through? Melanie Shull knows what it’s like to strive in silence. To hide in guilt and shame. To feel alone. To live with deep wounds.But Melanie has learned that forgiveness is the key to setting us free from a past of pain, and it’s what releases the flow of God’s indescribable joy through our lives. She wants you to discover this key too. In Unlocked Hearts, Unleased Joy: Forgiveness is the Key, Melanie uses her storytelling talents to reveal Jesus as the healer of our wounds. This life-changing book can help you to forgive, experience healing, and live in joy.“This is the Bible study you’ve been looking for. The theme of forgiveness is intricately woven into each chapter through Melanie Shull’s own story and through needy, desperate, or imperfect Bible characters who came face to face with truth. You’ll find an emphasis on getting answers from God’s Word, and you’ll discover how to make choices based on biblical wisdom. I highly recommend it.” —Carol Kent, director of the Speak Up Conference; speaker; author of He Holds My Hand: Experiencing God’s Presence and Protection.
Be free from toxic mindsets, destructive patterns of behavior, and lies that keep you bound. The truth behind seven little words changed Dawn Scott Damon's life when she heard a man from a small country church sing "I am who He says I am!" Her life was transformed as she began to believe what God's Word says about who she is in Christ, and she started her journey out of betrayal, abandonment, and deception. She shares compelling truths in a sixty-day interactive Bible study that identifies and confronts eight cords that keep many believers bound. These practical and powerful biblical tools are designed to give you a new mindset, a fresh beginning, and a clear direction for a positive future. Take the Freedom Challenge and become an active participant in your own emotional and spiritual transformation. Through a guided, intentional, and interactive daily process of putting God's Word into practice, the strongholds of destructive and bondage-making behavior in your life can be broken. Choose to take that first step to live free from deceptive self-talk, fear, depression, toxic mindsets, and debilitating lies, among others. Thought-provoking questions, journaling space, confessions, and affirmations are included to help guide you toward freedom. The truest thing about you and me is that we are who God says we are! We are to believe what God says about us, not be limited by negative labels, false limitations, and lies. -Dawn Scott Damon
This comprehensive study on the power of prayer designed to guide Bible students, church leaders, and all seekers into the effective and powerful discipline of prayer, uses classic sources, links the insights of those experienced in prayer throughout history, connects prayer and great spiritual awakenings, and inspires readers to strengthen their personal prayer lives.This comprehensive study on the power of prayer designed to guide Bible students, church leaders, and all seekers into the effective and powerful discipline of prayer, uses classic sources, links the insights of those experienced in prayer throughout history, connects prayer and great spiritual awakenings, and inspires readers to strengthen their personal prayer lives.
Good manners and etiquette begin in the home, or wherever a child is taught or mentored. From an early age, children learn how to behave, and as they grow, how to interact in their relationships at school, church, and in their communities. Though etiquette varies between cultures, practicing good manners is a kindness that extends across cultures, because the way we treat one another matters. We want to raise and train our children in safe, healthy environments, but the daily encounters of a fallen world make it challenging. Much has been written on good etiquette, but this practical, captivating book points readers to Jesus Christ as the Lord and the Holy Spirit as the Teacher of good manners, clearly illustrating that the Bible is the Life Manual for good behavior that comes from God's heart. From biblical examples to personal examples, reflection verses and practical steps, and prayers and Scriptures to pray over children, Considering Others: Good Manners to Glorify God will help parents, teachers, and mentors shape and develop godly character and good manners in children so they may lead healthy, successful adult lives in their sphere of influence around the world. And there's plenty of takeaways for adults too!
Matthew is the only gospel to mention the word church, which by the time the gospel was written, had become the dominant factor in the lives of Christians. From the arrival of the Messiah to the healing of the devil-possessed man, The Study of the Gospel of Matthew is a verse-by-verse study that church and small-group members will be able to apply to their lives. In Matthew's version of the gospel, Jesus is presented as the suffering Servant and the only qualified representative of the kingdom of God. Readers will understand how Jesus came as the Son of God to pay the sin debt, served on earth as the suffering Servant, and fulfilled God's plan for redemption. Designed as a practical and simple overview, readers and ministry leaders will appreciate the study's enlightening, alliterative style. Pastor Wesley has compiled a dozen other biblical verse-by-verse studies using the same alliterative style to help believers grow in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Study of the Gospel of Matthew is volume 1 of a three-volume series.
Can you trust God in all circumstances? When you lose your job, your children misbehave, your plans are ruined, your relationship ends, or when life-threatening illness strikes? Do you ever question where God is when life feels out of control? Trusting God is made easier when you understand the truth about His character. He is good. His goodness is constant and unending. He is in control. He is faithful. He keeps His promises. Faith will be strengthened, trust rebuilt, and perspectives shifted by these life-changing truths of Scripture illustrated by true personal stories. Designed for personal or group study, Trust Me contains discussion questions and suggestions for in-depth study. God is our Father and He loves us. He knows just what is best. His will is the most perfect thing that can come to us under any circumstances. Trust Me is a revised, updated, and expanded version of Verna Birkey's classic gem If God Is in Control, Why Is My World Falling Apart?
This book takes you on a 4000 year journey that begins with creation and leaves you in an era that would change the world forever. Walk through time from creation to the great flood and follow the survivors of the flood to the generation that gave birth to the Arab and Israeli Nations. Discover why God chose the children of this generation to demonstrate His power and bless the world, and how these children became a nation that struggled through time to remain faithful to God. Experience their slavery, their life in the desert, their joy of claiming the land God promised to give them, their years of extreme wealth and power, and ultimately their ruin and deportation. Sense their passion to survive the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Ptolemics, Seleucids, Romans and even Herod the Great. Live the history of a nation determined to survive--a nation that learned the value of putting their hope in God.
A downpour of childhood abuse left Debbie Roth drenched in pain and anger that hindered her relationships with others and with God. For a long time, she hid her misery, refusing to acknowledge its existence—until a fresh betrayal set change in motion. As a storm raged in her present, the dam holding back the pain of her past broke open. Try as she might, Debbie could no longer stand in the raging waters and pretend to enjoy the sun. She had to find a way to survive the flood.Combining stories from her journey with truths from God’s word, Debbie maps a route to share how you, too, can:• recognize and acknowledge your pain;• understand God’s forgiveness, grace, and mercy;• apply God’s forgiveness to those who may never ask for yours;• trust God’s promises of comfort, peace, rest, and hope;• be refreshed and enabled to truly worship God; and• turn your misery into ministry.With relevant scripture passages and points for guided reflection, Debbie invites you to seek God’s presence in your storms and to experience release from your pain, drenched instead by the healing comfort of God’s love.
Survival, happiness, and justice in the wild—through the eyes of a loving predator Melanie the badger is fierce, loving, independent, proud, and deeply protective of her young. As she roams the seasons of her life, she lives out a story of justice and survival. She loses young and survives, she loves and loses her lovers. No matter what happens to Melanie, she continues onward, survives, and never gives up hope. This deeply emotional second novel of the planned five novels in The Warren series, described as “beautiful, heartbreaking animal stories,” is a classic tale of good versus evil that culminates in an epic battle. In the life of one female badger, a story of predator and prey, are powerful lessons meant for adults or young adults: Never give up hope, no matter how hopeless things seem;Evil can be conquered, no matter how large or powerful;Have charity toward others;Stay strong in life and maintain your faith.
"Join in a refreshing journey alongside Colleen as she guides you to discover and live according to God's View of You." ~Elizabeth George, bestselling author of A Woman after God's Own Heart Do you struggle with feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, fear, or anxiety? Do you ever feel like you're just not enough? Trying to live up to others' expectations and your own standards of performance can leave you feeling anxious and exhausted. God's View of You: Discovering Your Biblical Worth equips you to address the root causes of your struggles and inspires you to cultivate and maintain a lifestyle of biblical worth. Utilizing true-life stories from women just like you, as well as action steps, guided study features, and introspection prompts, author Colleen Mehrer provides practical application strategies, creating a safe haven in which lies are revealed and truth is proclaimed. Well-suited for both individual and small group use, this book includes a Leader's Guide designed to help facilitators guide others toward the discovery of their true biblical worth.
Shift Your Perspective Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NRSV) Is there any aspect of your life that needs to be transformed? Maybe it's time to change your perspective. Vantage Point is a unique devotional designed to give you God's perspective on you and on your life. Each week, we examine a spiritual principle from 5 points of view. Day 1: Intro to the principleDay 2: Go a little deeperDay 3: What does it mean to you? Day 4: A biblical character's perspective Days 5-7: Connect it all and move forward By studying each principle for an entire week, we can layer biblical lessons and extract practical insights to apply in our daily lives. Our aim is to understand God's mind and draw closer to God's heart. Read Vantage Point if you want to transform your outlook, grow your faith, and experience God anew. Change your life by shifting your perspective!
From the first day they met, wild-child Becky has been a challenge for conservative Bible study leader Claire. How God expects her to be civil to this loud, unconventional, irreverent young woman, Claire does not know, but He keeps bringing her back into Claire's circle of influence, so He must have a plan somewhere. In this third installment of the Gather In series, Becky returns home after having run away, only to find that many things-including herself-have changed. Dealing with her own unplanned pregnancy, her mother's surprise marriage, and a close friend's near-death experience in a car accident has Becky looking at life a little differently than before. But God has a surprise for both of them, one that involves a secret family recipe and maybe a common heritage. With all their differences and dislikes, could Claire and Becky really be related?
The Christian Woman's Guide to a Blessed Life will help you regain control and take responsibility for you. Structure your life, family and home while becoming a woman of divine purpose and influence.
"Much has been written about church health. Most books focus on a handful of components contributing to the healthy functioning of a church. In John Cionca's Your Church at Its Best!, the contemporary church has a manual addressing the full spectrum of church health. From a solidly biblical and theological foundation, Cionca builds on his decades of experience as a pastor, seminary professor, and church consultant. He concisely and concretely describes the myriad dimensions contributing to a healthy church in today's challenging context. In addition to helpful examples, Cionca provides action steps churches can take to implement the various principles he discusses. Your Church at Its Best will be equally beneficial to those actively involved in building healthy churches, as well as those teaching in academic settings preparing women and men to be engaged in that task."¿John Lillis, provost, Grace College and Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana "Cultural shifts are taking place in North America, creating new complexities in ministry. Changing technologies, the collapse of modern Christendom, and the growing ethnic populations are just a few of the new winds of change blowing across the church landscape. As pastors and other church leaders seek to understand and navigate the changes, John Cionca provides helpful answers in Your Church at Its Best! Partnering with the Spirit in Ministry, based on Cionca's research among five hundred-plus churches and pastors, the book shows church leaders how to sail through the numerous winds of change to become a healthy church. Every church leader should read it and use it to set a biblical direction for their church."-Gary L. McIntosh, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University "Filled with real-life, not theoretical, examples, John Cionca lays out his understandings for today's church. While every era looks at things in different ways, the handles he describes are very accessible to all church leaders to apply within their own context and culture. Your Church at Its Best! is a quick read that will keep you thinking over and over."-Dave Travis, CEO, Leadership Network
Reality is hard enough to face when your spouse is diagnosed with terminal cancer. But picking up the pieces of a shattered life after your spouse has died seems impossible—except for God. Lynn MacKenzie has trekked down both paths. When her husband, Bruce, was diagnosed with and then eventually succumbed to cancer, the pieces of their picture perfect life flew apart. But God was her refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. MacKenzie prayed that God would give her eyes to see His hand and feel His presence throughout Bruce's illness. In response, God helped her to look beyond her suffering and experience His immense mercy and unconditional love. Lynn MacKenzie invites you to come into her world in The Tear Catcher, as she chronicles her husband's journey through cancer and her own experiences from heartache to grace; from unspeakable fear and grief, to abundant peace and joy.
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