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When we stand in the presence of the natural world of creation, something very powerful occurs. Our heart senses a raw and vital connection between ourselves and the handiwork of God revealed in the trees and rivers. Our eye catches some small detail and we are opened up to union with the world around us and to the Creator of that world. It does not take a magnificent vista; it could be a snowdrop or the sound of the wind. Our lives are informed by the wonder, the awe, and the radical amazement hidden in the beauty of the wild. We somehow grow in step with all that is about us. Looking deeply into the real life scenes of simple nature poems can illuminate a rhythm to our days that we might miss without the pause afforded in the whisper of ice on a branch. Explore the unity that is our lives in this series of meditations-this retreat into God.

After a half-century of activism, John McConnell, the true founder of Earth Day, here relates his global promotion of peace, justice, and Earth care. Following the Kennedy assassination, McConnell's Minute for Peace gained worldwide attention. This led to his Earth Day and other initiatives aimed at promoting people and planet. In this book, he shares the views that garnered support during the environmental movement from 1969 onward, and that have inspired followers for forty years at annual Earth Day ceremonies at the UN and cities across the globe.John McConnell coined the term Earth Day in 1968, proposed its celebration on the spring equinox to the City of San Francisco in October 1969, and announced it in November at a UNESCO Conference. The City responded by hosting the first Earth Day on March 21, 1970. Margaret Mead, UN Secretary-General U Thant, President Ford, and thirty-three Nobel laureates supported McConnell's Earth Day, and thirty-six worldwide dignitaries signed McConnell's Earth Day Proclamation, supporting Earth Day on the spring equinox, an annual planetary holiday linking people everywhere without regard to politics, culture, national border, or religion. In 1957, after Sputnik, McConnell promoted the Star of Hope, a satellite devoted to peace. This effort sparked his origination of Earth Day, the Earth Flag, Earth Trustees, and the Earth Magna Charta. He worked with UN officials and other leaders to overcome differences and build common ground for peace, aiming to ensure our planet's future and human survival. This book chronicles his global mission, his life journey, and his unique contributions toward a peaceful and cherished planet.

This is not your grandfather's poetry. It is spun for the everyman and woman. It is bred of a spiritual nature, yet it smiles and laughs and screams. Some are funny, some are sad. Some spit in the face of conformity, amused at the absurdity of the world whilst seeking a better way. These odes defy conventional structure and content. They rhyme without embarrassment yet experiment unapologetically with such. They convey messages of hope and love and clearer sight. And they challenge the accepted and popular notions of reality and illusion while offering superior alternatives to both. They will amuse and dismay, provoke and possibly offend, but they will not leave you unchanged. So join me, if you will, as we accompany The Illusion Warrior on his quest to dispel chimera and discover truth.

Every Christian is assailed by the gales of temptation, but those in professional ministry face fiercer storms than the rest. As C. H. Spurgeon warned, contrary to what is often assumed, "our dangers are more numerous and more insidious than those of ordinary Christians." This perspective was shared by the unified voice of the historic church, leading some patristic church fathers to initially flee the call to ministry. The same dangers were repeatedly identified in the writings of the early English pastoral theologians as they sought to mentor their proteges in successful ministry. A Most Dangerous Profession surfaces these gems so often overlooked in historic Christian literature, and ends with their practical advice on how to overcome. As both a pastoral and spiritual theology, A Most Dangerous Profession is bound to add an important voice to the ongoing dialog about pastoral self-care.

To have known Adrian van Kaam in person is to have loved him for reasons human and spiritual. His kindness to everyone is as legendary as his fidelity to the mystery in all the peaks and valleys of daily life. His humility is the fire that enkindles his original vision of formative spirituality. His gentle, joyful spirit radiates on every page of this retelling of his life story. In it he takes us to the heart of his thinking in the fields of psychology and spiritual formation. He welcomes us wholeheartedly into the intimate corners of his family, his friendships, and his pastoral and professional life. He brings us into a little known arena of world history, the infamous Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944--1945. We travel with him from that bleak period through the renewal of his life's work in the United States to its crowning phase in the Epiphany Association, co-founded with his colleague and editor of this unforgettable work of love, Dr. Susan Muto.

New Horizon in Male-Female Relationships attempts to break new ground in the discourse on gender equality, love, happiness, and marriage. Author David Samuel Green succeeds admirably and wastes no time in tracing the evolution of human relationships. But he also puts forward new theories regarding the state of relations between males and females across the globe, including married couples.What Green's new book further accomplishes lies in its no-holds-barred exploration of matters of the heart. Specifically, the author examines methods we can employ to eliminate problems that tend to hamper our relationships, and shows us how best to get the most out of our unions, with emphasis on how ""product thinking"" and ""egalitarianism"" assist remarkably.Besides offering solutions for troubled marriages and other relationships, the book also extols several concepts that go hand in hand with love and happiness. At the same time, it becomes clear that if we want our unions and partnerships to work, we have to bring the right attitude to the table. After all, as we learn, the ingredients for a successful relationship must include compassion, forgiveness, and understanding.

Description:""Why is this happening to me?"" is a question being asked by millions of people who have lost their livelihoods in today's economic recession. In Better for Life you will find answers to this question as you explore the trials of several biblical characters and the purposes for those trials. Within these pages you will not only discover the purpose of your trial, but you will also learn what you can do about it. You can't change your situation, but you can change yourself. God's plan is not merely to get you out of your trials, but to transform you while you are in them. Take a journey to discover the reasons for your hardships, and learn how you can use these circumstances to your advantage. Remember: God is not so concerned with making life better for you; He is interested in making you better for life. So, if you are tired of struggling under the burden of your circumstances, then it is time to become better for life!Endorsements:""Some voices today seem to imply that all true believers will prosper, financially, if they will just turn their hearts and minds over to God--and turn at least a tenth of whatever they earn over to their local churches. However, in Better for Life, Daniel Jones uses both Scripture and personal examples to debunk the myth of this so-called 'Prosperity Gospel.' He further shows how challenging opportunities sometimes offer believers the only avenues to model Jesus' example of self-sacrifice and to reap the resulting rewards of spiritual growth and transformation.""--G.R. Bud West,Assistant ProfessorWest Negros University""Better for Life embraces the Olympic spirit calling athletes to fight well. In our fight to be faster, higher, and stronger, success is reflected through our travels. We are born into a storm of sin and called to endure while choosing the Lord to light our way. In our fight through success and hardship, success is reflected through our ability to be a light in the storm. Thanks Daniel!""--Dave JohnsonOlympic Medalist Decathlon and Director of AthleticsCorban University""Better for Life is a book for our times . . . In relating his own story of hardship, Jones empathizes with those who have been shipwrecked by the storms of foreclosure, job loss, stress, depression, and a crisis of faith. Yet that is not where the story ends. Jones relates how he found hope in God, who turned his weeping into joy. I recommend this book as a perfect devotional guide for those who are navigating a storm and want to emerge better for life on the other side.""--Eric N. NewbergRegent UniversityVirginia BeachAbout the Contributor(s):Daniel Jones is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, and the Regent University School of Divinity in Virginia Beach. He now works as an engineer in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

Description:Dr. John H. Leith (1919-2002) enjoyed Christmas. He appreciated it especially as a celebration of the goodness of this world that God not only created but also, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, entered, blessed with his presence, and redeemed. And at Christmas he especially wanted to be in contact with, and to minister to, those whom he loved, those whom he had taught, and those whom he cherished as colleagues in the Christian and Reformed ministry of preaching, teaching, and pastoral care.This little book comprises a collection of Leith's Christmas letters to his former ministerial students at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. The letters grew lengthier and richer through the years. We have gathered them here so that others may enjoy reading them also.Endorsements:""John Leith's letters were unlike any others I received at Christmas. He was not 'breezy,' but theological and pastoral. He did not catch us up on Anne, Henry, and Caroline, but on the likes of Calvin, Niebuhr, and Outler. His news was not family news, but news concerning 'God was in Christ."" If you want to read about that good news of Christmas and what it means for the world and the church, I commend these letters.""--George AndersonSecond Presbyterian ChurchRoanoke, Virginia""For years the beginning of the season of Advent was marked by the arrival of John Leith's Christmas letter. I still have many of the letters. Now a new generation and a wider audience will have access to John Leith's witness to Christmas as a time when the most profound theological affirmation gives rise to the most precious of human sentiments leading to a renewed sense of the wonder and goodness of the created order.""--Allen C. McSweenGreenville, South Carolina ""John Leith's Christmas Letters are a rare combination of a great theologian's awe in the face of the mystery of the incarnation coupled with a child-like appreciation of the sheer joy and wonder of Christmas.""--William P. WoodSenior MinisterFirst Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, North Carolina""For many years, John Leith wrote a Christmas letter to his students and friends. Some of us were fortunate to receive them all. Now they are available in one collection. Contrary to the nay-sayers who attack the modern celebration of Christmas, John Leith saw the best in the celebrations--incredible music, fine food, good friends, and, of course, the celebration of the birth of Jesus. This is a profound treasure for the Church to see the true value of one of our major celebrations of God's graciousness.""--Jim WhiteRetired Presbyterian pastorOak Island, North Carolina""Graduating from Union Theological Seminary in 1972, I was thrilled to received Dr. Leith's Christmas letter the following year . . . His letters, like his life and his lectures, helped young pastors feel connected and valued as colleagues and we found encouragement, insight and inspiration for our personal lives and our pastoral duties in these annual missives. I still recall the sadness when they could no longer be sent.""--Daniel W. MassiePastorFirst (Scots) Presbyterian Church, Charleston, South CarolinaAbout the Contributor(s):John H. Leith (1919-2002) was the Mary Elizabeth Pemberton Professor of Theology at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, where he served the church as a theologian and teacher from 1959 until his retirement in 1990. Of his many books are Assembly at Westminster: Reformed Theology in the Making, An Introduction to the Reformed Tradition: A Way of Being the Christian Community, and John Calvin's Doctrine of the Christian Life.

Proceeding from Voltaire's conclusion that "God is a comedian playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh," this book seeks to uncover some of the many instances in which biblical texts offer readers grace and insight through the divine gifts of humor, wit, and laughter. Readers are invited to take a strikingly unusual, if not unique, approach to the texts, imagining not only the voice inflections but also the body language of their narrators to capture the humorous nuances and ripples of laughter that likely attended the first telling of many biblical stories.

Lutheran DNA takes the Reformation's Augsburg Confession of 1530 and asks whether parish issues today continue to find expression through the lens of this historic writing. The Augsburg Confession is named in Lutheran churches as a clear expression of Christian belief and practice. How is it so today? Stories, illustrations, and reflections flow out of this parish pastor's experiences as he reflects on meanings from Augsburg to Baltimore.

The Glory Walk is a brief work explaining to Christians what living for God's glory is all about. It is a summons to believers to live in the bigger picture of God's kingdom with God's purposes in view. We must face the reality that western culture is man-centered, that one's natural tendencies are toward self-glory, and that the grace of God is what is deeply needed to fulfill our purposes in God's created order. Christians need to be God-centered, oriented by the truth of God's Word, focused on the gospel, and completely dependent on God. We must see clearly that our God is infinitely glorious. Thus, He is worthy to receive our worship and praise. The believer's duty is to live intentionally for God's glory alone. However, duty must not carry with it the idea of drudgery. Instead, by God's grace, we delight in him and desire his glory to be known. The teachings in The Glory Walk call believers to the joyful life of exalting Christ!

Gold has always symbolized material riches. It is a simple element that somehow exceeds its intrinsic value. Its pursuit has become, for many, the primary goal of life. What is it that attracts us so about money and the material things it can buy? Is our fear assuaged by the perceived safety from a rainy day or do we believe that enough things will somehow fill the emptiness inside? I would hazard to guess that no amount of money has ever made anyone happy, ever. True happiness comes from finding our center, that place deep within each of us that cries out to be filled, a place that has been empty and found wanting since the beginning of time. No? Then ask yourself why a world founded on materiality is so screwed up and why the coveting of wealth so often lays waste to lives, compassion, and families in the pursuit of such things? The happiest people I know are those who treasure love, peace, and freedom over the chains imposed by the ownership of material things. These truly fortunate few are filled and made happy by the knowledge of a divine presence within, a presence that offers riches that satisfy the soul. They know that everything here is nothing in eternity. They, my friends, are the truly happy ones.So let us abandon our search for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the quest for the fountain of youth, or enlightenment in a capsule. Let us put aside these shallow offerings and pursue instead the divine life: the life that makes pale and lifeless the pursuit of simple gold. Join me here as we un-wrap celestial gifts, not of gold coins, but of joy and freedom.

When young Russell Pinske feels life is passing him by, he hits the road to shake things up. He catches a ride as far as his hometown in Indiana to visit friends and find a way to the West Coast. While there he stumbles through the summer on his wayward journey of self-discovery, bouncing from one impetuous impulse to another, becoming involved in the misbegotten capers of a gang of petty crooks and falling into a romance with an older woman. His motivation for his trip begins to wane as he gets mired in small-town life and wrapped up in the problems and preoccupations of the people around him. So when an old friend cruises into town under mysterious circumstances and offers a ride to California, Russell sees a chance to get back on the road and back on track, if he can extricate himself from his entanglements.

Rendezvous In Paris is a series of practical devotionals and personal meditations written by a Maine pastor as he traveled to the Charles De Gaulle Aero port to meet his daughter who was returning home sick from a summer missionary trip to Togo, West Africa. As he traveled on buses and planes through forty hours of wondering why, this pastor was inspired by everything from a fly on the flight to the plight the world was in during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The book includes the opinions and observations of a tourist in France and the spiritual insights he drew from the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Parc Du Champ De Mars. Traveling just weeks before 9-11, there are also some considerations on just what happened and how it happened that terrorists were able to get through national security and attack the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The book also includes the miraculous events required to take this trip, the ultimate purpose of God when He calls us suddenly out of our "comfort zone," and the blessings and pleasures that come by "letting go and letting God." On a personal note, this group of short stories reveals the deep emotion and loving connection between a father and his daughter and the extraordinary adventure they shared together in a day in Paris!

1521 has arrived. A new year in a new world with new nations, new continents, new knowledge, and new rulers. Never before had so much power been gathered in such young hands. The tenth Sultan, the twenty-six-year-old Suleiman, ascends to his father's throne in one of the world's most powerful empires. The rest of the world hopes that the eastern threat has faded. Rhodes is Christendom's closest and most defiant outpost against the East. There the Knights of St. John's Grand Master has died. Strife and treachery await his successor. Some hundred knights have the task to defend the outpost. Their Grand Master's motto is "Victory or Death."

Where does one find hope in the midst of profound suffering? Tony Backman aches to know. A blues-harmonica-playing child psychologist at a residential treatment center in Santa Rosa, California, Tony specializes in narrative therapy. His story-based technique empowers abused teenagers to reimagine their lives through myths and folktales and so restore their vitality. Such vitality, however, eludes Tony in his own life. Mired in depression, he longs for his fractured family and fends off childhood flashbacks too painful to face. Tony's mentor recommends classical underworld myths as a roadmap for the spiritual journey toward healing and hope, but Tony is too drained for the undertaking. Until Carey Foster enters his life. Carey is a golden-voiced eleven-year-old choral soloist at a local Catholic boys' home. Brought to Tony's treatment center with his wrists sliced, Carey cowers mutely with his secrets in the center's locked ward, a flicking middle finger his only beacon. Carey's healing depends on Tony's ability to navigate the labyrinth of deception and cryptic self-disclosure that conceals the soul's darkest secrets. It also depends upon Tony's willingness to navigate the labyrinth of love and disappointment lodged in his own soul. At once a psychological study of how trauma is healed; a hero's journey through the underworld of abuse, betrayal, and shattered faith; and a theological thriller in search of a credible and sustaining Sacred in the midst of unspeakable suffering, The God of Shattered Glass reveals that stories do indeed heal, and that the way to God is not up, but down.

If you would like to read many reasons for admiring and loving Jesus, then this is the book for you! If you admire and love Jesus but have difficulty identifying yourself as a Christian or have difficulty joining a church because of problems with this or that aspect of Christianity, then this is a book for you, too! Among other things, Love of Jesus points out that Jesus accepted and even encouraged doubters. Important as scholarship is, Love of Jesus is not a scholarly book. Rather, it reaches out to lay people, believers, and non-believers. It takes at face value a wide range of New Testament stories about Jesus and asks of them why we should admire and love the man who inspired them. Then, hoping it has inspired the reader to admire and love Jesus-or to admire and love him even more-Love of Jesus offers answers to the questions, "How should we follow him?" and "How should we relate to one another as Christians when we have different understandings of Christianity?"

This book on church administration is a tool for all pastors and leaders in all churches. It provides ideas, methods, guidelines, and styles of administering and supervising modern day congregations and religious organizations in an easy to follow language. It can be used for any clergy or lay training, retreat, spiritual formation workshops, and seminars. Theological or Bible institutions or universities which offer courses in church administration will find this book most helpful. Individuals can use it for their personal spiritual development. It also carries a devotional and motivational aspect which every spiritual leader cannot afford to miss.

Between the covers of this tome lay truly wondrous things. Composed of colors previously unseen and sounds rarely heard, these buds will blossom in your hand. As they do, they will burst into light that will illuminate the darkness. As that light reflects upon a table, a feast is seen before us. Take up arms, in spoon and ladle, and prepare to experience ephemeral tastes and aromas never known. So whet your appetites my friends, hone them and apply them to the job at hand. Then join me, if you will, as we feast on these delectable delights. Yet, if you don't mind as much, we'll leave the bones behind.Praise for J. Michaels [CENTER]""The Poet's Quill is an inspirational uplifting book of poetry that will have readers aspiring to new goals. With over one hundred poems ranging in titles such as 'One Soul To Save,' 'Beauty By The Bay,' 'I Want My Perfection Back,' 'Heaven's Gate,' and many more equally thought provoking, how can one not explore the vast possibilities of this wonderful book of poems. The author, J. Michaels, has reached into the depths of his soul and produced an amazing book that will touch readers' hearts, minds, and souls.""-Angela SimmonsMember, Reviewthebook.com

Description:Using crucial chapters from Paul's magnum opus as points of theological departure, Delano Palmer provides in-depth discussion on important themes like the role of first-century women in pastoral work and the nature and duration of spiritual endowments. Romans in Context is divided into three parts. Part one reviews the career and legacy of the apostle Paul against the backdrop of his cultural milieu and history. Part two takes up the knotty problem of what exactly does the apostle mean by justification by faith in its exploration of the declarative/demonstrative proposal of modern theologians. The section also explores what Paul has to say concerning the status of the justified in Romans 5-8. It is the final section that wrestles with matters of spiritual gifts, the role of female pastors, as well as the apostle's best-documented thoughts on Christian mission. Endorsements:""Prof. Palmer is not an armchair theologian; he is an engaging theologian immersed in the lives of the people, the culture of the community, and the struggle for the souls of Jamaica . . . Palmer is the right man to write this kind of theological book; it is scholarly, cultural, and authentic. As a professor of theology at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, Palmer has demonstrated excellence and effectiveness which inform his life and work.""--Joseph WintFounder and PresidentGlobal Education Services Corporation, New York""Romans in Context offers an interesting approach to the Epistle of Romans. Dr. Palmer is able to cast a new die for the study of this Pauline work. He does a good job of summarizing and analyzing the relevant literature and offers alternate conclusions for some of the syntactical and textual problems within the book. He is able to masterfully intertwine the functions of spiritual gifts and the role of the church. The designation 'Archbishop of Pricilla' exemplifies his willingness to discuss pertinent issues. He shows his gracious heart with the inclusion of essays from other writers. I recommend this book to all persons, especially students of Romans.""--Carlton DennisPastor of Bethel Gospel Assembly About the Contributor(s):Delano Vincent Palmer serves as Senior Lecturer at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, and is a bible teacher (Swallowfield Chapel in Kingston, Jamaica). He is the author of Spiritual Gifts: An Appraisal of Positions among Christian Brethren in Jamaica (1989), and Messianic ""I"" and Rastafari in NT Dialogue (2010).

Description:This book is a scholarly inquiry into several dimensions of culture, exploring the close relationship between architecture and metaphysical ideas as well as religious and philosophical concepts in each period of human history, a relationship which has, however, been largely forgotten or neglected by modernity. Rather than being a specialized account of any particular epoch, it is an intellectual attempt to map out a general picture of how certain ideas have made their way into architectural structures or shaped them in one or another way, from classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present. The four essays it contains, focusing on light, water, color, and sound in architecture, are written by an author who is a historian and critic of architecture as well as literary scholar, who firmly believes in the value of discussing these issues from the perspective of the history of ideas. The author is conscious about the limits of any generalizations, but he believes that architecture should be studied not only as an art in its own right, but as something larger, enveloping many layers of culture and reflecting the bonds between human thinking and the practice of the art of building.Endorsements:""The new book of professor Almantas Samalavicius is an extraordinary instrument of formation for young architects. Most of the literature on architecture is full of continuous references to subjects like light, color, sound, or water. Each of these words becomes true myths for architects, but unfortunately, they not always have a solid philosophical formation or lack sufficient cultured references to speak about these matters properly. Here Samalavicius offers a complete repertoire of references that I consider essential for the education of the architecture students. For this reason, welcome Ideas and Structures!""--Jaime NavarroUniversity of Seville, Spain.""Almantas Samalavicius promises 'a scholarly inquiry' but delivers a grand tour. These concise and accessible essays, immersed in the history of ideas, feed the senses--sight, sound, touch--and attend to the material that most fully defines our water planet. They survey mysticism, music, and theories of color and take seriously 'the powers of the soul to comprehend the incomprehensible.' More than a collection of essays in architecture, this is a contribution to politics in the classical Aristotelian sense, full of insight into the cities we make, the cities that make us, and the possibilities they contain.""--Steven Schroeder Co-founder of the Virtual Artists CollectiveAbout the Contributor(s):Almantas Samalavicius is a professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University's School of Architecture and teaches at Vilnius University, Department of English. An author of eight books published in Lithuanian, he has been a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Kyungpook National University of Korea, and several European universities.

"The Church, who is she?" asks Bo Giertz in this book, which, he adds, "is first of all for those who have some notion of the life which is present within the church walls and also have some desire to understand that life better and know more about it." If you're among the tens of thousands who've read Giertz's bestselling novel The Hammer of God about ordinary people in their relation to the Church and her message, then you know his ability to engage you in the dramatic events of everyday life. Giertz shows the same engaging ability, when he in Christ's Church takes you on a walk from her biblical roots toward her glorious future.

""It is 4:00 a.m. the day after Rosa died.I am wide-awake from a brief and troubled sleep.""This book explores the loss of a dear friend and companion-a remarkable fifteen-year-old retriever named Rosa. Many people form deep attachments to their pets. Yet we wonder how to celebrate our friendships with them and how to grieve their death. Dog-Kissed Tears is a meditative memoir woven from life with Rosa. In stories that are funny, sad, moving, and honest, Lambert Zuidervaart links his attachment to his beloved dog and his love for human friends. Familiar songs help him trace his personal journey through the adoption, life, and death of a canine companion. As Lambert works through grief and longing for Rosa, he connects memories of childhood with self-discoveries in middle age. Dog-Kissed Tears weaves a lyrical narrative of friendship, loss, and healing. Its spiritual undercurrent is subtle but profound.

Charlie's Christmas Letter is a little document in the form of a letter to my grandson, which seeks to answer the questions that a bright teenager ought to be asking: Why were the shepherds in the fields in winter? Who were the three wise men? Why do we bring holly into the house? Of all the ways of entering a house why does Santa choose the chimney? What is the Messiah about? Why did Tchaikovsky drink unboiled water during a cholera epidemic? What is the Jewish Celebration of Lights all about? The letter presents some of the more interesting features of the season and incidental matters. Much space is devoted to details of the nativity and the transmittal of these through the uncertainties of the gospel reports; then there are the primitive rituals of food and drink; the origin of Santa Claus; and a summary of the wonderful legend ""The Cessation of the Oracles.""Then come features of the season not part of the nativity story: Messiah, The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, containing some of the more colorful and significant details of the lives of Handel, Tchaikovsky, and Dickens. Then Hanukkah. Then Shopping. At best tangentially related, these have in them elements of Christian value. Next, the climax of the season: church on Christmas morning and the carols. Finally the book concludes with an attempt to present for the boy the huge dimension of the inconceivable phenomenon of the Incarnation. The chatty, simple style avoids long words where possible and offers parenthetical explanations. It is not without occasional, innocent wit and is sometimes a bit didactic: there are grandfatherly prescriptions, which Charlie may find a bit pompous.

Street Cop is the exciting story of one man's career in Law Enforcement. David Spell joined the Gwinnett County Police Department in 1984 at the tender age of twenty-one. This fast moving narrative takes the reader inside the squad car with David as he patrols some of the most dangerous areas and neighborhoods in Metro Atlanta. If you like the TV show Cops, you will love Street Cop. Get ready for your tour of duty. Strap into the passenger seat of David's squad car and enjoy the car chases, foot chases, fights, murder investigations, and other assorted crazy calls. You are about to see first-hand what it is really like on America's mean streets!

Cairns have decorated the landscapes of cultures throughout time. Piles of stone-one stone placed on top of another-are set in place all over the earth to recall battles, identify burial sites, mark trails, and spur hearts and minds to remember sacred, noble, and critical events. They are landmarks. They are sacramental presences in space and time. Our lives are littered with markers of meaning. They all reveal who we are, where we have been, and offer us a jumping off point for the future. In the true mystic tradition, everything straddles meaning and is potentially available to reveal the inner life, God Himself, and all that Is. My hope is that we will begin to look at the markers of meaning in our lives and notice how we store that meaning in our heart. My hope is that we will reconstruct our prayer life and the shape of our interior world, that we will recognize the impact things have on us and discriminate toward health. Our journey in this book will be more like an amble or a wandering. We will hop from pillar to post looking for meaning and attempting to infuse things with meaning. We will look at our practices and the practices of those from our shared human past. We will begin to notice that there is a hidden depth to how we live-one that reveals we live in layers or dimensions, not simple and flat lines.

Description:At each turn in life we are bombarded with the idea of normal. Normal finds a job he hates so it can pay for things he doesn't need while he wishes he was doing something else. Normal believes that creativity, imagination, innovation, and dreaming should cease after the fifth grade. Normal goes to church for an hour on Sundays but doesn't get carried away or allow her faith to truly intersect her life any other time of the week.Each day of normal becomes a tedious, hard-pill to swallow. But each day of normal also swells our thirst for something more. Have you ever wondered if there was something beyond normal? Have you ever craved adventure? What about purpose? Wished for meaning? Longed to know that what you do really matters? Maybe you've just longed to know that you matter.What if you could unlock the secrets to an abnormal life just like those men and women in Hebrews 11? What if God's design for your life is so much more than the trappings of this world? What if there is a life up ahead that could be meaningful, adventurous, and most of all, matter for eternity? What if God is not done altering the course of history? This is your invitation to travel miles past normal.Endorsements:""Most of us long for a life that is beyond normal, exceptional even. Tim Cooper's new book , Miles Past Normal, is not only a biblical guide but an inspirational ride through one of the most dynamic sections of the Bible. Tim has opened the door to the exceptional life at a time when so many are searching for meaning and purpose.""--Philip H. LingFounder, The Ling Group""Tim has caught the essence of the faith journey that is made in everyday life. He challenges us all to check the gauges of faith on our own life. Perhaps God is challenging you today to drive miles past normal.""--William Behrman, PresidentFlorida Christian CollegeAbout the Contributor(s):Tim Cooper ministers with Broadway Christian Church in Lexington, Kentycky, where he lives with his beautiful wife, April, and their three children, Makayla, Trace, and Lilly Grace.

Se estima que la poblacion hispana en los Estados Unidos era 45.5 millones en el ano 2007, convirtiendo a los hispanos en la etnicidad minoritaria mas grande de la nacion. Los hispanos constituyen el 15 por ciento de la poblacion total de esta nacion. La poblacion latina en los Estados Unidos se triplicara, y de acuerdo a las proyecciones del Censo, los hispanos representaran el 29 por ciento de la poblacion en los Estados Unidos para el ano 2050.Este libro ofrece sugerencias para capacitar a lideres hispanos que se involucraran en el ministerio en diferentes regiones de los Estados Unidos. Las conclusiones y principios revelados en este proyecto investigativo proveen informacion, entendimiento y sugerencias que pueden tambien contribuir en los esfuerzos para capacitar a lideres emergentes y misioneros de otros grupos raciales tanto en los Estados Unidos como en otros paises.