Download or read book No More Faking Fine written by Esther Fleece Allen and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.

Download or read book When God Talks Back written by T.M. Luhrmann and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.

Download or read book God is Back written by John Micklethwait and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the street and in the corridors of power, religion is surging worldwide. From Russia to Turkey to India, nations that swore off faith in the last century--or even tried to stamp it out--are now run by avowedly religious leaders. This book examines this new world, from exorcisms in São Paulo to religious skirmishing in Nigeria, to televangelism in California and house churches in China. Since the Enlightenment, intellectuals have assumed that modernization would kill religion--and that religious America is an oddity. As these authors argue, religion and modernity can thrive together, and America is becoming the norm. The failure of communism and the rise of globalism helped spark the global revival, but, above all, 21st century religion is being fueled by a very American emphasis on competition and a customer-driven approach to salvation, and its destabilizing effects can already be seen far from Iraq or the World Trade Center.--From publisher description.

Download or read book There Is More written by Brian Houston and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2018-03-20 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founder and Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church and author of LIVE LOVE LEAD shows how, with God's power, you can believe and achieve a life that exceeds every earthly expectation. When you surrender control and follow God's guidance, you become empowered and equipped to do the impossible, reach higher, and go further than you could have ever imagined--giving Him all the glory. By building our lives around godly principles, surrounding ourselves with wisdom, and living for a cause greater than ourselves, we can effectively live out God's purposes and have an enduring impact. As Brian Houston has personally discovered, when we depend on Jesus as the source for our identity, our lives can be a lasting legacy that maximize the gifts He has given each of us as unique individuals. There is More is for anyone who wants to be challenged to live with expectancy. Ephesians 3 is a call to release the immeasurable potential within you and the exceeding, abundant, and above plans and purposes of a Holy God that are beyond your greatest imagination. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Download or read book Unsinkable Faith written by Tracie Miles and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2017-04-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For many people, remaining optimistic and feeling positive about themselves and their lives is a constant battle—especially when circumstances are difficult and life is hard. For others, negativity is something that only sneaks up from time to time, yet still wreaks havoc in their hearts. Regardless of the root causes, once pessimistic thoughts permeate our minds, our feelings and emotions begin to control us instead of us controlling them. Eventually it doesn’t seem possible to stay positive, happy, and full of joy, and negative thought patterns shake our faith, causing us to sink emotionally, mentally, and spiritually over time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Despite what storms roll in, hearts anchored in God don’t sink. When we change the way we think, we can change the way we feel and live, even if our circumstances remain the same. Intentionally embracing the opportunity to experience a transformed heart and a renewed mind opens the door for a changed life, because a positive mind will always lead to a more positive life. In Unsinkable Faith, author and Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker Tracie Miles offers hope for women who struggle with negativity. Each chapter explores Tracie’s and other women’s personal stories, showing how they rose above their circumstances by transforming and renewing their minds. Unsinkable Faith is a breath of fresh air for anyone longing for a heart full of joy, an unbreakable smile, and a new, more optimistic perspective on life. This book will equip you to: Replace pessimism with positive thinking by becoming the captain of your thoughts; Learn how true joy and happiness are based on choice, not circumstances; Overcome unhealthy habits of negative thinking by intentionally implementing three easy mind-renewing steps; Stop feeling hopeless and pitiful, and start feeling hope-filled and powerful instead; and Discover that when you change the way you think, you change the way feel, and in turn you can change your life completely.

Download or read book God s Got My Back written by Rudolph W. McKissick, Jr. and published by St. Paul Press. This book was released on 2009-08 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In The Survivor's Club, Bishop McKissick is a member, but he qualifies to be the president." --from the Foreword, Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant In August of 2008, Bishop Rudolph McKissick underwent an extensive spinal surgery that resulted in a four-month hiatus and birthed a multiplicity of other physical challenges, inclusive of the possibility of never proclaiming the Word of God again. In this new book, McKissick allows us to journey with him from discovery through recovery and see how God not only birthed a medical miracle in his life but also how God revealed to him spiritual principles for life that he now shares with all. Read this book and learn how to discover and recover from the challenges that come into your life.

Download or read book Made Like Martha written by Katie M. Reid and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2018-07-10 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An invitation for overachievers to discover what it means to rest as God's daughters without compromising their God-given design as doers. Are you a Martha who feels guilty for not being a Mary? Do you want to sit at Jesus’s feet as Mary did—but you feel the need to get things done? In Made Like Martha, Katie M. Reid invites you to exchange try-hard striving for hope-filled freedom without abandoning your doer’s heart in the process. Through her own story and rich biblical illustrations, Katie reminds you that it’s not important whether you sit and listen or stand and work. What matters is that your spiritual posture is one of a beloved daughter who knows she doesn’t need to earn God’s love. Your desire to get things done is not something to temper but something to embrace as you serve from a place of strength and peace—knowing Christ already did His most important work for you on the cross. With “It Is Finished” activities at the end of each chapter and a fiveweek Bible study included, Made Like Martha helps you find rest from striving even as you celebrate your God-given design to “do.” “Made Like Martha will infuse your life with a fresh perspective as you learn both to embrace your God-given personality and also discover how—and when—to rest and retreat.” —Karen Ehman, Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and New York Times bestselling author of Keep It Shut

Download or read book God Has a Name written by John Mark Comer and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2024-10-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What you believe about God sets the foundation of the person you will become. In God Has a Name, pastor and New York Times bestselling author John Mark Comer invites you to rethink many of the prevalent myths and misconceptions about God and weigh them against what God actually tells us about himself. After all, what you believe about God will ultimately shape the type of person you become. We all live at the mercy of our ideas, and nowhere is this more true than our ideas about God. The problem is many of our ideas about God are wrong. Not all wrong, but wrong enough to form our souls in detrimental and disheartening ways. God Has a Name is a simple yet profound guide to understanding God in a new light--focusing on what God says about himself in the Bible. This one shift has the potential to radically alter how you relate to God, not as a doctrine, but as a relational being who responds to you in an elastic, back-and-forth way. John Mark Comer takes you line by line through Exodus 34:6-8--Yahweh's self-revelation on Mount Sinai, one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. Along the way, Comer addresses some of the most profound questions he came across as he studied these noted lines in Exodus, including: Why do we feel this gap between us and God? Could it be that a lot of what we think about God is wrong? Not all wrong, but wrong enough to mess up how we relate to him? What if our "God" is really a projection of our own identity, ideas, and desires? What if the real God is different, but far better than we could ever imagine? No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, God Has a Name invites you to step into a fresh and biblically rooted vision of who God is that has the potential to alter your life with God and shape who you become.

Download or read book Love Life Again written by Tracie Miles and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2018-08-01 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Love Life Again, Tracie reminds readers they each get only one life to live and inspires them not to take it for granted. Through compelling personal stories and powerful insights from Scripture, she helps women identify the stumbling blocks to their joy and offers tools and insights to take back control of their happiness. Every chapter ends with a practical call to action to motivate readers to begin loving their lives again. She also offers reflection questions, prayers, and creative ideas to help readers smile. Love Life Again helps readers learn how to live the abundant lives Jesus died for them to have, despite the circumstances they may face.

Download or read book Gospel Centered Discipleship written by Jonathan K. Dodson and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2012-03-31 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reflecting on the practice of disciple making in young adult, college, graduate, and local church contexts, Jonathan Dodson has discerned some common pitfalls. For many, discipleship is reduced to a form of religious performance before God. For others, it devolves into spiritual license and a loose adherence to spiritual facts. Both approaches distort biblical motivations for Christian obedience and are in need of reform. By explaining various motivations for discipleship, Dodson charts a biblically faithful, grace-driven alternative. Additionally, he provides a practical model for creating gospel-centered discipleship groups—small, reproducible, missional, gender-specific groups of believers that fight for faith together. This book blends both theology and practice to inspire and equip Christians to effectively fight sin, keep Jesus central, and make gospel-centered discipleship a way of life. Both new and growing Christians will learn to trust the gospel in community as they fight together for holiness as well as how to start gospel-centered community groups in any local church.

Download or read book A Sudden Glory written by Sharon Jaynes and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you long for something more in your relationship with God? The good news is that “something more” does not mean “doing more.” God is not waiting for you to get your spiritual life “right.” He wants to be with you right where you are. The real question is not “What does God want from you?” but “What does God want for you?” Sharon Jaynes understands what it’s like to have a “glory ache”—a longing to experience God’s presence on a daily basis. She also knows how easily working for God can get in the way of intimacy with God. And she’s discovered that we tend to make our faith journey much too hard. In A Sudden Glory, Sharon uses Scripture and story to help you erase the line between your “spiritual life” and your “daily life” as you enter the sanctuary of God’s presence even in the middle of your busy, messy day. Here you will find your eyes opened to moments of sudden glory in which the Creator assures you of His love as you live and move and have your being in Him. Here you will discover true freedom—the freedom of experiencing God in a deeper and more intimate way than ever before. Includes Bible study and discussion guide.

Download or read book Walking Through Fire written by Vaneetha Rendall Risner and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy. Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again. She had four miscarriages. Her son died because of a doctor's mistake. And Vaneetha was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, meaning she would likely become a quadriplegic. And then her husband betrayed her and moved out, leaving her to raise two adolescent daughters alone. This was not the abundant life she thought God had promised her. But, as Vaneetha discovered, everything she experienced was designed to draw her closer to Christ as she discovered "that intimacy with God in suffering can be breathtakingly beautiful."

Download or read book Women Living Well written by Courtney Joseph Fallick and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women desire to live well. However, living well in this modern world is a challenge. The pace of life, along with the new front porch of social media, has changed the landscape of our lives. Women have been told for far too long that being on the go and accumulating more things will make their lives full. As a result, we grasp for the wrong things in life and come up empty. God created us to walk with him; to know him and to be loved by him. He is our living well and when we drink from the water he continually provides, it will change us. Our marriages, our parenting, and our homemaking will be transformed. Mommy-blogger Courtney Joseph is a cheerful realist. She tackles the challenge of holding onto vintage values in a modern world, starting with the keys to protecting our walk with God. No subject is off-limits as she moves on to marriage, parenting, and household management. Rooted in the Bible, her practical approach includes tons of tips that are perfect for busy moms, including: Simple Solutions for Studying God’s Word How to Handle Marriage, Parenting, and Homemaking in a Digital Age 10 Steps to Completing Your Husband Dealing With Disappointed Expectations in Motherhood Creating Routines that Bring Rest Pursuing the Discipline and Diligence of the Proverbs 31 Woman There is nothing more important than fostering your faith, building your marriage, training your children, and creating a haven for your family. Women Living Well is a clear and personal guide to making the most of these precious responsibilities.

Download or read book Creatures of Habit written by Steve Poe and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beloved pastor Steve Poe helps Christians identify and break free from the destructive patterns that are keeping them from the joy-filled, flourishing life Jesus promised. We all have both good and bad habits in our life. Creatures of Habit reveals how to remove bad habits and replace them with godly ones. But it's not a matter of working hard, of "pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps." That approach simply doesn't work. True transformation is God's work--our job is to listen, obey, and put into practice what he's already directing us to do. Steve Poe has pastored large, growing churches for more than thirty-four years, and during that time he has counseled hundreds of people. He's seen that poor choices often become bad habits that in turn cause people a lot of problems. Hundreds of things can become a bad habit in our lives, but Poe focuses on the most common, among them: anger, lust, worry, cynicism, pride, self-centeredness, and greed. Each chapter provides insights, biblical examples, and tangible tools that will help you break the bad habits that can become spiritual strongholds in your life.

Download or read book Standing Strong written by Alli Worthington and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Let go of the guilt, shake off the shame, and fend off your fears. God made you to stand strong in any situation, and bestselling author Alli Worthington will show you how. We live in a culture that constantly tells you who you should be as a modern woman. You're told that you aren't enough and that you don't have what it takes to chase your dreams. But it doesn't have to be that way. For the woman who longs to break free from what holds her back, Standing Strong offers a no-nonsense, guilt-free guide to take back your life from self-doubt. In Standing Strong, Alli comes alongside you as you: Eliminate, once and for all, the lies that keep you from being who God made you to be Become an unbreakable woman who finds her strength from God for any adversity Gain strategies for tackling the obstacles of self-doubt, fear, and insecurity Find the confidence to say yes and amen to God's call on your life You can't break a woman who draws her strength from God. You're stronger than you think, and you're worth more than you could ever imagine. Let this book help you cement these realities in your life. Praise for Standing Strong: "The path to fulfilling our God-given purpose is filled with numerous twists, turns, and challenges. In Standing Strong, Alli shows us how to press through our fears, doubts, and self-imposed limitations in order to embark on the exhilarating faith-filled adventure we are each destined to live. This book is full of wisdom, grace, and honesty. I loved it and know you will too." --Christine Caine, Founder of A21 and Propel Women "If your life has been plagued by self-doubt, by feelings of never being enough, Alli has given us a road map to saying yes to who God says we are." --Sheila Walsh, Author of Praying Women and Praying Girls

Download or read book Hope for a Woman s Heart written by Pam Tebow and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "As Pam Tebow travels around the world to speak with women, she hears firsthand about the struggles and concerns they face. Now, in Hope for a Woman's Heart, she speaks straight to our souls through time-honored Scriptures, powerful personal stories, and deep reflections on : trusting God in the midst of challenges; choosing to live with joy, contentment, and thanksgiving; receiving God's comfort and sharing it with others; prioritizing God's Word and prayer; and resolving to love and forgive like God does. In this beautifully designed devotional, Pam will encourage you to draw nearer to the Lord, live a life that honors him, and depend on him--because he is the hope that your heart so desperately needs."--Amazon.com

Download or read book It s Not Supposed to Be This Way written by Lysa TerKeurst and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention hurtful, and his promises doubtful? Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances, inviting you to live assured when life doesn't turn out like you expected. Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a season, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned at best and overwhelmed and hopeless at worst. We quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness and why he allows us to suffer and experience grief and loss. Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But after many tears, godly counseling, and prayerful seeking, she's also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability, and honest humor, helps us to: Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations. Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy, so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes. Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle. Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us. Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God's truth, the Bible. Look for additional biblically based resources and devotionals from Lysa: Good Boundaries and Goodbyes Forgiving What You Can't Forget Uninvited You're Going to Make It Embraced Seeing Beautiful Again