Download or read book Empty Womb Aching Heart written by Marlo Schalesky and published by Bethany House. This book was released on 2001-05-01 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hope and Help For Those Struggling With Infertility When the professional advice isn't enough, and you've had your fill of well-meaning comments from those who haven't experienced infertility, Marlo Schalesky wants you to know you are not alone. The true stories she tells of couples who share your hopes, fears, frustrations, and the comfort only God can bring will encourage your heart. Infertility strikes at the core of what it means to be a woman or man, tests marriages, and shakes faith. The honest, open, and emotionally resonant first-person stories in Empty Womb, Aching Heart will touch your life--as you "cry in the diaper aisle," wonder if you "are less of a woman," ask "How far should we go?" or whisper to God, "It's not fair."

Download or read book The Concise Guide for Congregational Care written by Melissa Collier Gepford and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE RIGHT WORDS FOR EVERY SITUATION, AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Pastors and congregational care ministers of all kinds must offer the right words and presence in any place, at a moment’s notice: Words of scripture offering comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. Words of truth providing accurate information. Words of prayer offering connection with God. And a calm, capable, attentive presence. The Concise Guide for Congregational Care is the tool for the task. This easy-to-use book provides words of scripture and prayer, along with important information to share with people in hospitals, care centers, and homes. The full texts of scripture, poetry, and prayers are included, so there’s no more flipping back and forth in your Bible or other books. The small size makes the book easy to carry in your bag or pocket, and appropriate to use in the most intimate settings and sacred moments. Part 1 offers quick reminders of the foundations for care, including key points on theology, boundaries, procedures, and the use of technology. Part 2 provides scriptures, prayers, and other relevant words for times of crisis and events or situations during which people need care. It is organized by situation, including addiction, anxiety, cancer, COVID-19, death, depression, divorce, infertility, sexual assault, and suicide. Part 3 equips you to be a meaningful spiritual guide in important moments beyond crisis care. These include adoption, blessing of a home, graduation, retirement, and many other transitions, milestones, and seasons of life. This section includes words of scripture and prayer for each situation, plus instructions for conducting a simple service of anointment. Melissa Gepford is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church and serves as the Intergenerational Discipleship Coordinator for the Great Plains Conference, UMC. She launched Caring Congregation Ministries at churches in Kansas and Nebraska, and is an organizational consultant for The Caring Congregation, which strives to create excellence in church care ministry across the United States. Contributors Laura Berg and Joy Dister-Dominguez provided original prayer texts and helped to shape the scripture selections for this book. Laura Berg is an ordained deacon in full connection in the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. She has served as a minister of congregational care, hospice chaplain, and chaplain for the fire & police departments of New Smyrna Beach, FL. She co-established a congregational care ministry in her church and has worked with leaders and laity in churches across the U.S. to develop care ministries for their communities. Joy Dister-Dominguez serves as associate pastor at Arlington Heights United Methodist Church in Ft. Worth, TX, where she oversees congregational care and discipleship and preaches regularly. Joy is an elder in full connection in the United Methodist Church. She is an ICF trained coach and uses those skills to guide leaders and congregations in creating strong, sustainable ministries of care.

Download or read book Shepherding Women in Pain written by Bev Hislop and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical resource for anyone who wants to help women with the pressures, frustrations, and trauma they face Women today often have sources of tremendous pain in their lives such as infertility, divorce, domestic violence, eating disorders, and more. Yet, most leaders are not prepared to help women who have real pain from such traumatizing issues. If you want to be better equipped to help women in pain, this book was written for you. Designed to give leaders and care givers greater understanding and insights, Shepherding Women in Pain is a compilation from contributors who have expertise and experience on the given issue. Learn about domestic violence from expert Stacey Womack, founder and executive director of Abuse Recovery Ministry & Services; or learn how to help women who struggle with eating disorders from Kimberley Davidson, founder of Olive Branch Outreach. The reader will be provided concise, practical, and grace-infused information designed to help women deal constructively with the trauma of their life experiences. This book will serve as a key resource--to read and re-read often--for those who serve women in pain. A remarkable blend of expertise and empathy, Shepherding Women in Pain is a perfect resource for pastors, church staff, and women’s ministry leaders alike who want to help women in pain experience Jesus, joy, and wholeness again.

Download or read book The Quick Reference Guide to Sexuality Relationship Counseling written by Dr. Tim Clinton and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2010-04 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This A-Z guide assists people-helpers--pastors, professional counselors, youth workers, and everyday believers--to easily access a full array of information to aid them in (formal and informal) counseling situations.

Download or read book The Caring Congregation Ministry Implementation Guide written by Karen Lampe and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastors and church leaders genuinely want to care for people in their congregations and communities. But pastors cannot care for an entire church, and most laypersons don't have the training to do it. The Caring Congregation Ministry is a model for person-to-person care that's been proven to work in small and large churches across the U.S. It is a laity-centered ministry, where laypersons receive rigorous training and then are commissioned to serve as Congregational Care Ministers, caring for others in their own congregation and their extended community. This remarkable approach to congregational care was first developed by author Karen Lampe and her team at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, in Kansas City. It has been tested, refined, and strengthened, and is now being adapted in all sorts of congregational settings. One early adapter was co-author Melissa Gepford, who launched a Caring Congregation Ministry in her own rural church. Together, they have created this immensely practical guide for any pastor or leader seeking to create a congregational care ministry. This Implementation Guide is the main book for getting started. It introduces the ministry model and explains the Five Essentials which form the ministry's foundation. It is extremely practical, full of checklists and other tools to help pastors and other leaders understand (and explain) this way of providing congregational care. The Implementation Guide also includes a section focused on the crucial component of this ministry–the Congregational Care Minister, or CCM. This section fully describes the characteristics of CCM's, how to recruit people to this ministry, how to discern if candidates are a good fit, and how to conduct the CCM training over a multi-week period. It details the critical information CCM's must know, and the behaviors and habits they must practice in order to be effective. Note that the companion book, The Caring Congregation Ministry: Care Minister's Manual, is required for the CCM training. It serves as a training workbook, which then becomes the CCM's personal reference manual.

Download or read book Hannah s Hope written by Jennifer Saake and published by Tyndale House. This book was released on 2014-02-27 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hannah’s Hope is intended as a guide to assist you in making wise decisions as you struggle through your grief of not yet conceiving, losing a child, or struggling through the adoption process.

Download or read book The Quick Reference Guide to Counseling Women written by Dr. Tim Clinton and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The newest addition to the popular Quick-Reference Guide collection, The Quick-Reference Guide to Counseling Women focuses on the special needs of women in counseling situations. It is an A-Z guide for assisting people-helpers--pastors, professional counselors, youth workers, and everyday believers--to easily access a full array of information to aid them in formal and informal counseling situations. Each of the 40 topics covered follows a helpful eight-part outline and identifies (1) typical symptoms and patterns, (2) definitions and key thoughts, (3) questions to ask, (4) directions for the conversation, (5) action steps, (6) biblical insights, (7) prayer starters, and (8) recommended resources.

Download or read book Infertility written by Lois Flowers and published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was released on 2003 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From her own experience, Flowers understands the struggle and anguish infertile readers go through, and she gently points out some strategies that will help bring true peace and joy in the midst of the disappointment.

Download or read book Did You Get What You Prayed For written by Nancy Jo Sullivan and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2011-09-21 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of people struggle with questions about how to pray, what to pray for, and even whether to pray at all. Nancy Jo Sullivan and Jane Kise help people get away from the magic formula mentality of prayer and recognize how God is at work in their lives. With explorative retellings of relevant Bible stories, true accounts of people's prayer experiences, and reflections by the authors, this book will lead people past the topic of prayer and straight to the God who is listening. Well, did you get what you prayed for? Or are you weary of waiting for answers? Wondering if God is even listening? You’re not alone. Millions of people grapple with knowing how to pray, asking: Have I used the right words? Do I even deserve an answer? Why would God listen to me? Yet the essence of prayer is not a formula, but a relationship with God. Renew your hope and refresh your prayer life through these inspiring, true stories. Meet people who discovered that God indeed hears, cares about the details, and gives you exactly what you need. Encouraging. Relevant. Uplifting!

Download or read book Infertility in Medieval and Early Modern Europe written by Regina Toepfer and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-11-22 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines discourses around infertility and views of childlessness in medieval and early modern Europe. ​Whereas in our own time reproductive behaviour is regulated by demographic policy in the interest of upholding the intergenerational contract, premodern rulers strove to secure the succession to their thrones and preserve family heritage. Regardless of status, infertility could have drastic consequences, above all for women, and lead to social discrimination, expulsion, and divorce. Rather than outlining a history of discrimination against or the suffering of infertile couples, this book explores the mechanisms used to justify the unequal treatment of persons without children. Exploring views on childlessness across theology, medicine, law, demonology, and ethics, it undertakes a comprehensive examination of ‘fertility’ as an identity category from the perspective of new approaches in gender and intersectionality research. Shedding light on how premodern views have shaped understandings our own time, this book is highly relevant interest to students and scholars interested in discourses around infertility across history.

Download or read book Tending the Soul written by Anita Lustrea and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every day, tens of thousands of women turn to Midday Connection for spiritual nourishment and encouragement through the radio program and Facebook community. The hosts, Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt and Lori Neff hear the heartfelt needs of these women and understand their desires to grow in body, mind, and soul. In response, Midday Connection along with prominent authors and artists – Staci Eldridge, Shannon Ethridge, Carol Kent, Sara Groves and many others – compiled Tending the Soul: 90-days of Spiritual Nourishment. This devotional combines transparency with biblical truth, as each reading begins with scripture, followed by a short devotional including a deeply personal prayer, and closes with an application question.

Download or read book Wrestling With Wonder written by Marlo Schalesky and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You’ve never seen Mary, or her God, like this! Who is this God? Who is he who calls us to surrender and then leads us on a journey of twists and turns, ups and downs, unlike anything we could have ever expected? Who is this God who calls a young girl to birth a Savior and then watch him die on a Roman cross? Who is he who fulfills every promise and yet shatters every expectation? Come, join Mary, Jesus’ mother, on a journey of discovery. Hear the angel’s call, walk the long road to Bethlehem, give birth in a barn, search for a lost son, kneel at the foot of a cross, and experience the wind of the Spirit. Come, walk with Mary, and find your own journey in hers. Because life rarely turns out the way we planned ... Because we lose the wonder in the disappointments of life ... Because being highly favored does not mean being highly pampered ... Because Mary shows us God—passionate, breath-taking, and unpredictable ...

Download or read book Books That Change lives written by CLC Publications and published by CLC Publications. This book was released on 2014-08-19 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Books That Change Lives is a compilation of essential books recommended by Christian retail book experts. This guide is a useful tool for beginners just coming to the faith, “veteran” Christians searching for growth and guidance and church leaders seeking to study the Christian faith and recommend quality Christian books to others.

Download or read book Paths to Parenthood written by Lucia Gould and published by tredition. This book was released on 2024-03-23 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Paths to Parenthood: Embracing Natural Solutions for Fertility Challenges" by Lucia Gould is a transformative guide that shines a light on the often overlooked natural pathways to achieving fertility. Through Lucia Gould's expert insights, this book explores the holistic essence of fertility, unveiling the potent combination of nutrition, herbal remedies, acupuncture, and mindfulness techniques. Aimed at individuals and couples facing the hurdle of involuntary childlessness, "Paths to Parenthood" offers a compassionate and comprehensive exploration of how to harness nature's bounty in pursuit of parenthood. Delving deep into the complexities of the human reproductive system, Gould provides an enlightening overview of how dietary choices, lifestyle changes, and stress management can significantly impact fertility. With a focus on balance and well-being, the book advocates for a return to natural rhythms and remedies, encouraging readers to explore non-invasive options for fertility enhancement. "Paths to Parenthood" is more than just a fertility guide; it's a journey of hope, healing, and discovery. Lucia Gould empowers readers to take control of their reproductive health through evidence-based practices, personal anecdotes, and supportive advice. Whether you're just beginning your journey to parenthood or have faced challenges along the way, this book offers a nurturing path forward, inviting you to explore the natural solutions that could lead you to the fulfillment of your deepest desire for a child.

Download or read book Shades of Morning written by Marlo Schalesky and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 2011 RITA finalist from award-winning author Marlo Schalesky, a heartwarming tale of second chances. Marnie didn’t know much about miracles. Mistakes maybe. Accidents. And monstrous mess-ups. She knew a lot about those. But miracles? Those were for other people. Marnie Wittier has life just where she wants it. Quiet. Peaceful. No drama. A long way away from her past. In the privacy of her home, she fills a box with slips of paper, scribbled with her regrets, sins, and sorrows. But that’s nobody else’s business. Her bookstore/coffee shop patrons, her employees, her friends from church—they all think she’s the very model of compassion and kindness. Then Marnie’s past creeps into her present when her estranged sister dies and makes Marnie guardian of her fifteen-year-old son—a boy Marnie never knew existed. And when Emmit arrives, she discovers he has Down syndrome—and that she’s woefully unprepared to care for him. What’s worse, she has to deal with Taylor Cole, her sister’s attorney, a man Marnie once loved—and abandoned. As Emmit (and Taylor) work their way into her heart, Marnie begins to heal. But when pieces of her dismal past surface again, she must at last face the scripts of paper in her box, all the regrets and sorrows. Can she do it? Or will she run again?

Download or read book If Tomorrow Never Comes written by Marlo Schalesky and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Childhood sweethearts Kinna and Jimmy Henley had simple dreams–marriage, children, a house by the sea…everything they needed for happily ever after. What they didn’t plan on was years of infertility, stealing those dreams, crushing their hopes. Now, all that’s left is the memory of young love, and the desperate need for a child to erase the pain. Until… Kinna rescues an elderly woman from the sea, and the threads of the past, present, and future weave together to reveal the wonder of one final hope. One final chance to follow not their dreams, but God’s plan. Can they embrace the redemptive power of love before it’s too late? Or will their love be washed away like the castles they once built upon the sand? The past whispers to the present. And the future shivers. What if tomorrow never comes?

Download or read book Secrets from the Treadmill written by Pete Briscoe and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2004-09-07 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We're all aware of God's commandment to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." After all, it's one of the Big 10. But how many of us really observe a Sabbath of rest? More than just a lazy Sunday afternoon, we all need "Sabbaths"-times of reflection and relaxation-in this stressed-out world. With a pastor's experience and insight, and an award-winning writing style, Secrets from the Treadmill presents a rejuvenating plan of rest replenishment to stressed-out, overworked people. Offering practical and spiritual motives to engage in periods of rest, the book also provides realistic solutions for fitting Sabbaths into a busy life. Finally, it includes a chapter devoted to wise "resters" from the Bible.