Download or read book Messy Faith written by A. J. Gregory and published by Revell. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While most of us trudge toward the cross with the best intentions, at times our lives just don't pan out the way we've planned. Messy Faith addresses the muddled adventure that we call "working out our salvation." It is being sure and unsure, whole and broken, warring, losing, and winning. It is being right and being wrong and having no clue, but believing anyway. And it is trusting in God to perfect the final product of our flawed, human lives. Author A. J. Gregory explores her own personal experiences, and those of a handful of flawed biblical heroes and others who have endured painful or simply ordinary realities in the journey to belief. This honest book will comfort anyone who has had a less-than-straight path to belief and those who continue to struggle.

Download or read book Messy Grace written by Caleb Kaltenbach and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2015-10-20 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes, grace gets messy. Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor. Very few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor and as a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage and grace. Messy Grace shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”—or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus was able to love these people and yet still hold on to his beliefs. So can you. Even when it’s messy. “Messy Grace is an important contribution to the conversation about sexual identity for churches and leaders. Caleb's story is surprising and unique, and he weaves it together compellingly. He states his views clearly, leaves room for disagreement, and champions love no matter where you are in this conversation.” —Jud Wilhite, Sr. Pastor, Central Christian Church

Download or read book Messy written by A. J. Swoboda and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2012-04-13 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity is messy. Unanswered prayers. Painful choices. Unresolved regrets. We’re called to have faith, and yet we doubt. We try to be perfect, but we fall short. This is the chaos. It’s all around us. There’s no limit to it. And there’s no quick fix for it.Both annoyingly honest and refreshingly humorous, Messy reassures Christians that God can reveal Himself in their clutter. Author and pastor A.J. Swoboda offers biblical insight and vivid, personal stories to redefine faith from something that must be perfect to something that is imperfect, but can still give beauty, meaning, and purpose to a messy life. As entertaining as it is challenging, this book teaches Christians what it means to trust in each other, in grace, in hope, and in a Savior who defied the rules of death. Here’s to finding joy in your chaos!

Download or read book Messy Truth written by Caleb Kaltenbach and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-08-10 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Messy Grace, a former pastor raised by gay parents, comes a compassionate playbook to help Christians, church staff, and ministry leaders create a culture of belonging without sacrificing theological convictions. What should we do? This is a question many Christians are asking as they face shifting societal norms, conflicting opinions, and often inaccurate scriptural interpretations regarding those who identify as LGBTQ+. Caleb Kaltenbach believes there’s a more helpful question:What am I willing to do to keep and build influence with ______________? Caleb knows our love for others is best measured by the lengths we’ll go to help them. He also recognizes that people find and follow Jesus better in community than in isolation. As a child raised by three activist gay parents, Caleb experienced firsthand the outrage of some Christians. That’s why he is committed to creating a sense of belonging for all people. True community can happen only when Christians are intentional in infusing their attitudes, systems, and values with grace and truth. This hopeful, practical book offers tools for encouraging church involvement, strengthening personal relationships, increasing empathy, and engaging in pivotal conversations about grace and truth with our whole community. Fostering a culture of belonging is a messy process, but it holds a massive possibility for everyone involved: a growing relationship with Jesus.

Download or read book Messy Spirituality written by Mike Yaconelli and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Find freedom from legalism's should's and discover the deep spirituality of being loved by the God who meets and transforms you in the midst of a messy and unpredictable life. Do you ever feel like you don't pray enough, read your Bible enough, share your faith enough, love God enough . . . and ultimately that you're not a very good Christian? Welcome to the club. Messy Spirituality was written for the silent majority of us who are convinced we just don't do Christianity right. Mike Yaconelli dares to suggest that imperfection, unfinishedness, and messiness are, in fact, the earmarks of true Christianity; that real Christianity is messy, erratic, lopsided . . . and gloriously liberating. In these pages, he challenges you to let go of the legalism that holds you back and embrace the grace freedom that God offers. He opens your eyes to the one-size-fits-all spirituality churches often want us to embrace and shares what it truly means to walk with God in a deep, intimate, life-changing way. Full of innovative ideas and concepts, Messy Spirituality is a classic that offers timeless wisdom for anyone ready to be free from the bonds of perfectionism. Spanish edition also available.

Download or read book My Faith Book written by Shanna Noel and published by Dayspring. This book was released on 2020-08-03 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Capture your favorite God moments in your very own My Faith Book! Glue in a picture of your small group or youth group, write down your answered prayers, tape in your concert tickets, list the top ten things you are thankful for-after all, there's no wrong way to fill it! It's supposed to be messy and maybe even a little chaotic. With a few, fun prompts and plenty of space to document your faith journey, you'll unleash the creative within and create a legacy piece you can look back upon or even share with others.

Download or read book Looking for God in Messy Places written by Jake Owensby and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2021-04-16 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is beautiful and brilliant stuff, profound and plain, incredibly human, wise and charming. I trusted and enjoyed every word.” –Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author about Looking for God in Messy Places For any who feel frustrated and world-weary, and who want more than just wishful thinking or superficial spirituality, this book is for you! In these pages, my friend Jake Owensby poignantly shows how LOVE is what can truly give us hope to carry on: real love, God's love for us, our love for each other, right here, right now in all the struggles of this messy life. And God knows, we need this book NOW! —Bishop Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times Life is messy. We can get discouraged by setbacks, overwhelmed by busyness, and shaken by worry. Hope is the power that gets us out of bed in the morning and gives us the courage to face adversity. Looking for God in Messy Places by Jake Owensby is a book about how love gives us an inextinguishable hope. This book is for anyone who has ever been frozen in place by loss or regret, anyone who has endured suffering, cruelty, or rejection. From word to word and page to page, readers will experience themselves as God’s beloved—so that they can be hopeful. From the introduction [This book is] For those whose struggles have been long and for those who are growing weary from heavy burdens. For those facing an unforeseen crisis or for those enduring a slow personal train wreck. For those whose throats have grown raw from crying for justice and for those whose wounds have gone unhealed. This is a book about hope, and I have written it especially for those who refuse to yield to discouragement and despair. Topics include: - The power of love to give us hope - The ways that God shows up in our daily lives - Recognizing God’s call in our lives - Becoming your true self - Having a sense of belonging - Forming a friendship with Christ - Contemplative faith

Download or read book Messy and Foolish written by Matthew Warner and published by . This book was released on 2016-02-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Messy Beautiful Love written by Darlene Schacht and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2014-09-23 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Messy Beautiful Love delivers an incredible testimony of grace that offers hope for today’s marriages and a spark for rekindling love. Love gets messy. Financial problems, sickness, aging parents, a chronically unhappy spouse . . . trials will inevitably come that threaten your marriage. No matter how long you’ve been married or how strong your relationship is, sooner or later you are going to have a mess to clean up. Messy Beautiful Love is about cleaning up messes God’s way, exchanging your ideas for His, and being prepared for both the best and the worst that marriage has to offer. When you surrender your relationship to God, then and only then will you experience the blessing of marriage as He intended. This is the blessing of obedience. Messy Beautiful Love is an invitation to that obedience. The cynical world says marriages don’t last, but God knows better. Tune out the world and tune in to Him. When you do that, a beautiful marriage is not only possible, it’s inevitable.

Download or read book Ordinary on Purpose written by Mikala MD Albertson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2022-03-08 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beauty is Found in the Ordinary The world is shouting at us to be more. Strive. Achieve. Overachieve. Never stop pushing. As a family practice doctor, wife, and mother, Mikala Albertson appeared to be living a "perfect" life, but really her whole world was falling apart. Married seven years to an alcohol and drug addict while raising two young children and finishing residency, Mikala eventually reached a breaking point. And surrendered. In sifting through the shattered pieces of her life, she realized she had been chasing something that doesn't exist. Perfect is pretend. And what she desperately needed to embrace was ordinary. A good, hard, messy, gritty, lovely, ordinary life. In Ordinary on Purpose, Mikala shares her heartfelt journey in a raw and revealing way as she invites you to lay down your own endless chase for perfection and embrace this beautiful, messy life exactly as it is with our perfect, loving God right by your side. What would it look like to stop pretending to be "perfect" and be ordinary? Instead of always feeling overwhelmed and alone, you might discover the beauty of a good, hard life grounded in the radiant hope of God's unending love. Life happens in the ordinary, after all.

Download or read book All Shall Be Well written by Catherine McNiel and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this beautiful and broken world, God is here. The heavens declare the glory of God . . . but are we listening? Yes, God created this world, but sometimes we forget that he hasn’t left—that his redemptive, creative work happens still today, right here under our feet. So when we seek for God and study his truth, how much are we missing if we don’t awaken to all he has placed in the soil and sky? God made this world of light and darkness, summer and winter, life and death. What does he intend to teach us in these ever-repeating cycles and seasons? Seamlessly weaving biblical truths into everyday life, Catherine McNiel will help you discover an unbelievable reality: God meets and transforms you in the mess and abundance of every mundane moment.

Download or read book Bless This Mess written by Rev. Molly Baskette and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A witty, compelling guide to raising open-minded and morally grounded kids in these crazy times, with an approach that’s rooted in science, psychology, and faith “Groundbreaking, profound, frank and friendly.”—Wendy Mogel, PhD, author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY LIBRARY JOURNAL When Rev. Molly Baskette and Dr. Ellen O’Donnell first met, they were both new mothers seeking parenting wisdom. They read a lot of books on the topic, but none of them contained practical suggestions that would help their families psychologically and spiritually while maintaining their progressive values: How do we teach the art of forgiving and serving others? How do we raise kids who are tolerant, curious, and honorable? And what about the sex talk? Taking matters into their own hands, Baskette and O’Donnell began creating actionable steps addressing these questions and more. This book is the fruit of their many conversations begun long ago during the daycare carpool, from angsty moments to hallelujahs. In Bless This Mess, readers will gain constructive tools as they learn how to talk to their children about social justice, money, God, ethics, bullying, disabilities, sexuality, and their bodies. Parents will also glean insights on how to serve others with joy, give generously and gratefully, and—perhaps most important—learn how to stop being so afraid all the damn time, even while raising kids in an increasingly chaotic and often scary world. With real-life examples, relatable personal stories, and strategies tailored to the toddler, preteen, or teenager, Bless This Mess guides parents of children at all stages of their development.

Download or read book Keep Believing written by Ray Pritchard and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible tells us God is good, yet how can we still believe when our lives are falling apart? Dr. Pritchard helps us search the Scriptures for hope and encouragement and invokes the comfort of our heavenly Father during hard times.

Download or read book Messy Beautiful Friendship written by Christine Hoover and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women long for deep and lasting friendships but often find them challenging to make. The private angst they feel regarding friendship often translates into their own insecurity and isolation. Christine Hoover offers women a fresh, biblical vision for friendship that allows for the messiness of our lives and the realities of our schedules. She shows women - what's holding them back from developing satisfying friendships - how to make and deepen friendships - how to overcome insecurity, self-imposed isolation, and past hurts - how to embrace the people God has already placed in their lives as potential friends - and how to revel in the beauty and joy of everyday friendship With stories of real friendships and guidance drawn from Scripture, Hoover encourages women to intentionally and purposefully invest in one of the most rewarding relationships God has given us.

Download or read book Silent Savior written by A. J. Gregory and published by Revell. This book was released on 2009-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thoughtful and honest look at the times God is silent helps readers understand and believe God is still there even during the hard times.

Download or read book Messy Church written by Ross Parsley and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When you look at the church today, what do you see? A corporation with a CEO at the helm? A social organization that does good things for the community? Pastor Ross Parsley believes that neither of those pictures is God’s desire. Instead, God wants His church to function as a family—a group of real people who love each other and care for one another’s needs, no matter how messy. Our culture is dying for the kind of community that only the church can provide—if we are living as God intended: as a family, protecting one another, extending grace, and loving unconditionally. We are not called to be consumers who ask what the church can offer us. We are called to love deeply, fight fairly, and bring hope to a generation of people starving to belong to something greater than themselves. Welcome to the family. You belong here.

Download or read book The Messy Quest for Meaning written by Stephen Martin and published by Ave Maria Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on lessons learned from Catholic monks and saints as well as his own experience, Stephen Martin has crafted five unique practices to help Catholics grapple with life's truly important questions and discover their calling in the world. The Messy Quest for Meaning is one of the first books to tap into the wisdom of the Catholic spiritual tradition to help readers discern a vocation that will not only provide them with a livelihood but also just might help save their lives. Martin first tells of his own struggle to find meaning and purpose in his life and then details the five transforming practices that he learned, over time, from the Trappist monks whom he studied, interviewed, and prayed with.