Download or read book Refugia Faith written by Debra Rienstra and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Refugia Faith, Debra Rienstra explores nature's refugia--places where life endures in a crisis--and applies this model to faith. Drawing from theology, nature writing, and science, she examines how Christian spirituality and practice must adapt for a climate-altered planet.

Download or read book Worship Words written by Debra Rienstra and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2009-02 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two worship experts issue a call to renewed appreciation of the role and power of language in worship.

Download or read book So Much More written by Debra Rienstra and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 2005-03-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the mysteries at the heart of Christian faith? Why do they matter? How can they transform our lives? Debra Rienstra answers these questions and many more in her evocative exploration of Christian life and faith. So Much More is a gesture of welcoming friendship for people who are new or newly returned to Christianity—those who are searching, lurking, longing, or learning. Anyone who wishes to understand Christianity better will welcome this genuine, heartfelt account of basic Christian beliefs and practices. Readers will find fresh explorations of Christianity’s foundational themes, such as incarnation, grace, suffering, and hope. Throughout this encouraging and passionate book, Debra Rienstra connects ancient articles of faith to contemporary concerns: our longing for transcendence, our desire for integrity, and our hope for intimacy with God.

Download or read book Open and Unafraid written by W. David O. Taylor and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A book you will want to read and read again." -- Eugene Peterson Afterword by Bono. How can we find a more transparent, resilient, and fearless life of faith? The book of Psalms has been central to God's people for millennia, across all walks of life and cultural contexts. In reading it, we discover that we are never alone in our joys, sorrows, angers, doubts, praises, or thanksgivings. In it, we learn about prayer and poetry, honesty and community, justice and enemies, life and death, nations and creation. Open and Unafraid shows us how to read the psalms in a fresh, life-giving way, and so access the bottomless resources for life that they provide. "David Taylor’s take is 'open and unafraid' alright. He really goes there, exposing himself before God in the most beautiful way. He might have called the book Naked, because if you don’t find your own self feeling a little exposed here, it might be time to take some armor off." -- Bono, from the Afterword "A book that you will want to read and read again, and yet again, in order to discover the wisdom of the Psalms that shows us how to walk in the life-giving way of Jesus." -- Eugene Peterson, from the Foreword "A winsome, accessible entry into the Book of Psalms…Connects the poetry of the psalms to real-life wonders and struggles." -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary "Taylor reads these biblical prayers with Dr. Seuss, rappers, and other poets, along with theologians and the daily news....Guides readers in tracing out patterns of holy speech that have the potential for healing our hearts and our communities." -- Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School "I have always loved the psalms--for their defiant devotion, their deep joy, and their brutal yet beautiful honesty. And after reading this fantastic book about them, I love them even more." -- Matt Redman, worship leader and song writer "In these fraught and fearsome days, we need the psalms more than ever. And we need more faithful artists and thinkers like David Taylor to mine the infinite gifts the psalms offer across the ages." -- Karen Swallow Prior, author of Fierce Convictions

Download or read book A Christian s Guide to Planet Earth written by Betsy Painter and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From conservation to protecting endangered species to sustainable living, A Christian's Guide to Planet Earth offers a faith-based framework for viewing our responsibility to the natural world as well as practical, biblical ways we can care for the magnificent creation around us. Drawing on science and Scripture, this hope-filled and reader-friendly guide helps us navigate questions about caring for and respecting God's world. With a focus on real-life solutions, this book explores answers to questions such as: What does the Bible say about food shortages, forests, and pollution? How can we make ethical choices about what we eat and what we wear? Why is reducing our carbon footprint a way of loving others? What do animals tell us about God's design for the earth? What simple choices can we make to help recover God's beauty in creation? Four-color infographics throughout highlight the inherent grandeur of the natural world, stirring our hearts to care about the wild and wondrous things God has made. Each chapter concludes with practical tips on how to become better stewards of the Earth, including how to support efforts that make a positive difference in the world. A Christian's Guide to Planet Earth is ideal for: Anyone who wants to make a difference for the planet but doesn't know where to start Readers interested in how stewardship of the water, air, land, and gardens relates to serving God and our neighbor Bible studies and church small groups Homeschooling families and networks Anyone who loves God's beauty in nature Readers with questions about how changes to our earth affect the planet and our lives Equal parts philosophical and practical, this guide provides us a deeper understanding of God's love for His creation and the delightful, God-given privilege we have to enjoy it and care for it well.

Download or read book In This World of Wonders written by Nicholas Wolterstorff and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2019-01-16 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World-renowned Christian philosopher. Beloved professor. Author of the classic Lament for a Son. Nicholas Wolterstorff is all of these and more. His memoir, In This World of Wonders, opens a remarkable new window into the life and thought of this remarkable man. Written not as a complete life story but as a series of vignettes, Wolterstorff’s memoir moves from his humble beginnings in a tiny Minnesota village to his education at Calvin College and Harvard University, to his career of teaching philosophy and writing books, to the experiences that prompted some of his writing—particularly his witnessing South African apartheid and Palestinian oppression firsthand. In This World of Wonders is the story of a thoughtful and grateful Christian whose life has been shaped by many loves—love of philosophy, love of family, love of art and architecture, love of nature and gardening, and more. It’s a lovely, wonderful story.

Download or read book Peace and Plenty written by Sarah Ban Breathnach and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2010-12-29 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As featured on Oprah's podcast, SuperSoul Conversations "When money is plentiful, this is a man's world. When money is scarce, it is a woman's world." Unearthed in a 1932 Ladies Home Journal, this quote is the call to arms that begins Peace and Plenty, Sarah Ban Breathnach's answer to the world's-- and her own personal-- financial crisis. As only Ban Breathnach can, she culls together this compendium of advice, deeply personal anecdotes, and excerpts from magazines, books, and newspapers-- particularly those of the Great Depression-- to inspire readers who are mired in today's financial difficulties. Focusing on her own personal path, Sarah Ban Breathnach will relate never-before revealed details about how she fell from the financial top to the bottom. Readers will immediately see how deeply she understands the plight of those trying to maintain a happy and comfortable home, while at the same time not even knowing if they will be able to make the mortgage to keep that home. Sarah has proved to be the voice of comfort for years to women who are spiritually bankrupt, and now she will reach to those who are financially strapped, showing them how to pull themselves out of their psychic and fiscal crises while providing deep comfort and reassurance throughout.

Download or read book When God Was a Bird written by Mark I. Wallace and published by Fordham Univ Press. This book was released on 2018-11-20 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a time of rapid climate change and species extinction, what role have the world’s religions played in ameliorating—or causing—the crisis we now face? Religion in general, and Christianity in particular, appears to bear a disproportionate burden for creating humankind’s exploitative attitudes toward nature through unearthly theologies that divorce human beings and their spiritual yearnings from their natural origins. In this regard, Christianity has become an otherworldly religion that views the natural world as “fallen,” as empty of signs of God’s presence. And yet, buried deep within the Christian tradition are startling portrayals of God as the beaked and feathered Holy Spirit – the “animal God,” as it were, of historic Christian witness. Through biblical readings, historical theology, continental philosophy, and personal stories of sacred nature, this book recovers the model of God in Christianity as a creaturely, avian being who signals the presence of spirit in everything, human and more-than-human alike. Mark Wallace’s recovery of the bird-God of the Bible signals a deep grounding of faith in the natural world. The moral implications of nature-based Christianity are profound. All life is deserving of humans’ care and protection insofar as the world is envisioned as alive with sacred animals, plants, and landscapes. From the perspective of Christian animism, the Earth is the holy place that God made and that humankind is enjoined to watch over and cherish in like manner. Saving the environment, then, is not a political issue on the left or the right of the ideological spectrum, but, rather, an innermost passion shared by all people of faith and good will in a world damaged by anthropogenic warming, massive species extinction, and the loss of arable land, potable water, and breathable air. To Wallace, this passion is inviolable and flows directly from the heart of Christian teaching that God is a carnal, fleshy reality who is promiscuously incarnated within all things, making the whole world a sacred embodiment of God’s presence, and worthy of our affectionate concern. This beautifully and accessibly written book shows that “Christian animism” is not a strange oxymoron, but Christianity’s natural habitat. Challenging traditional Christianity’s self-definition as an other-worldly religion, Wallace paves the way for a new Earth-loving spirituality grounded in the ancient image of an animal God.

Download or read book Domain Errors written by Maria Fernandez and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This provocative book makes it perfectly clear that feminism is not dead - it's a critical weapon...a must read for all becoming cyberfeminists and autonomous agents!" Elizabeth Hess, writer/critic"If you want another e-feminist volume rehashing Lacan, weaving as metaphor, or the icon as on-line identity, don't buy this book. These cyberfeminists take no prisoners as they march through the virtual territories of postcolonial power vectors in an attempt to establish living models of resistance. Lock and load, ladies!" Critical Art Ensemble"This exceptional collection of writings and artist projects performs a resistant feminist politics. Charting new strategies and practices, the authors imagine liberatory possibilities for our bodies, identities, and social relations in the era of digitized networks and genetic engineering." Miwon Kwon, editor, DocumentsPart performative intervention, part radical polemic and activist manual, Domain Errors! Cyberfeminist Practices introduces a diverse international group of feminist writers, artists, theorists, and activists engaged in formulating a contestational politics for tactical cyberfeminism. This recombinant book highlights productive intersections of feminist and postcolonial discourses through critical analyses of the embodied politics of digital culture. Opening areas repressed in previous cyberfeminist discourses, the authors map contemporary social relations between women as they are mediated and transformed by digital and bio technologies.Cyberfeminism studies included at the following universities, among others:York, Salford, Leeds, Goldsmith's, Lancaster, Sussex.

Download or read book Overrated written by Eugene Cho and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It can be fashionable to talk about the poor but not as fashionable to talk to the poor. It may be popular to talk about justice and still not know any victims of injustice. But we will never make poverty history until we make poverty personal. Eugene Cho shatters all our hipster coffee-shop talk of justice and dares you to dive into the trenches and do something real with your life." Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and friend of Eugene Cho "A gutsy and gritty exposé on the motives of a generation in love with the idea of saving the world, Overrated by Eugene Cho is a necessary exercise for all who desire to truly be a part of the change God wants to bring to humanity. This book is real, personal, necessary, and a must-read, so we can all continue on the path toward justice for all." Louie Giglio, Passion City Church/Passion Conferences "When you're done talking about the gospel and are ready for your walking to be the gospel: Start here. I needed this book." Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times bestseller One Thousand Gifts Many people today talk about justice, but are they living justly? They want to change the world, but are they being changed themselves? Eugene Cho has a confession: "I like to talk about changing the world but I don't really like to do what it takes." If this is true of the man who founded the One Day's Wages global antipoverty movement, then what must it take to act on one's ideals? Cho does not doubt the sincerity of those who want to change the world. But he fears that today's wealth of resources and opportunities could be creating "the most overrated generation in history. We have access to so much but end up doing so little." He came to see that he, too, was overrated. As Christians, Cho writes, "our calling is not simply to change the world but to be changed ourselves." In Overrated, Cho shows that it is possible to move from talk to action.

Download or read book Reconciliation in a Michigan Watershed written by Gail Gunst Heffner and published by MSU Press. This book was released on 2024-05-01 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like many American urban waterways, Ken-O-Sha has been in decline for nearly two hundred years. Once life-supporting, the waterway now known as Plaster Creek is life-threatening. In this provocative book, scholars and environmentalists Gail Gunst Heffner and David P. Warners explore the watershed’s ecological, social, spiritual, and economic history to determine what caused the damage, and describe more recent efforts to repair it. Heffner and Warners provide insight into the concept of reconciliation ecology, as enacted through their group, Plaster Creek Stewards,who together with community partners refuse to accept the status quo of a contaminated creek unfit for children’s play, severely reduced biological diversity, and environmental injustices. Their work reveals that reconciliation ecology needs to focus not only on repairing damaged human–nature relationships, but also on the relationships between people groups, including Indigenous North Americans and the descendants of European colonizers.

Download or read book Executing Grace written by Shane Claiborne and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this reasoned exploration of justice, retribution, and redemption, the champion of the new monastic movement, popular speaker, and author of the bestselling The Irresistible Revolution offers a powerful and persuasive appeal for the abolition of the death penalty. The Bible says an eye for an eye. But is the state’s taking of a life true—or even practical—punishment for convicted prisoners? In this thought-provoking work, Shane Claiborne explores the issue of the death penalty and the contrast between punitive justice and restorative justice, questioning our notions of fairness, revenge, and absolution. Using an historical lens to frame his argument, Claiborne draws on testimonials and examples from Scripture to show how the death penalty is not the ideal of justice that many believe. Not only is a life lost, so too, is the possibility of mercy and grace. In Executing Grace, he reminds us of the divine power of forgiveness, and evokes the fundamental truth of the Gospel—that no one, even a criminal, is beyond redemption.

Download or read book Rooted Faith written by Sarah Renee Werner and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2023-09-19 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is hope yet that we may embrace the call to live differently on this fragile planet. As temperatures rise, natural disasters wreak devastation, and precious species die off one by one, we know we must change how we live in the world. But how? What would it look like if we took seriously the biblical charge to live more peacefully and gently on our fragile planet, if we understood ourselves as neighbors in a community of creation? Rooted Faith explores the future of the church called to live differently—one of reinhabiting our particular landscapes and confronting the assumptions of consumer culture head-on through our lives and actions. Drawing on Scripture, Christian history, and practical theology, author Sarah Renee Werner invites readers into a new way of seeing ourselves in relationship with the rest of creation. She offers tangible practices for opening up our hearts to both the beauty and tragedy around us and guides us toward meaningful action to restore creation. There has never been a more crucial moment to reclaim this overlooked aspect of our faith as we seek to live differently—live well—on this fragile planet.

Download or read book Balancing Acts written by Daniel Lamarre and published by HarperCollins Leadership. This book was released on 2022-01-18 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this leadership memoir, take a step backstage at Cirque du Soleil. Vice Chairman Daniel Lamarre shares his experiences leading the awe-inspiring organization, and teaches readers what it takes for anyone, regardless of position or industry, to embrace the value of creative leadership. Without creativity, there is no business. At the core of Cirque du Soleil’s lavish, multi-million-dollar productions is Vice Chairman Daniel Lamarre, who has mastered the ability to bring business and creativity together across multiple languages and cultures in a way that has never been seen before. The secrets he shares in Balancing Acts are rooted in tremendous faith in your own creative skills, even if you are convinced you have none, and those of the sharpest minds within your organization. In this book, Daniel shares the untold stories behind Cirques biggest shows, including Beatles Love, Michael Jackson One, the aquatic marvel, O, and many more. Through these tales of triumph and trials, he will teach you: How to shatter the perceived limitations standing in the way of your ability to think creatively and innovatively; When to step up and when to step back so that your team can create a masterpiece that doesn’t break the bank; How in using the methods Daniel has uncovered, modern companies with entrenched bureaucracies can bring creativity and business together to foster innovation; and How to use creative thinking to lead your organization to new heights. Whether you work for one of the most creative organizations on the planet like Cirque du Soleil, in a stuffy corporate job, or somewhere in between—Balancing Acts is filled with principles that can strengthen and accelerate any business on the planet.

Download or read book Six Degrees written by Mark Lynas and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2008 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In astonishing and unflinching detail, a noted science journalist explains how Earth's climate will be impacted with every degree of increase in global warming--and what can be done about it now.

Download or read book Feathers of Hope written by Sharon Garlough Brown and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." (2 Corinthians 4:18) In a season of loss and change, Wren Crawford and her great-aunt, Katherine Rhodes, share the journey as companions in sorrow and hope. As Katherine prepares to retire as the director of the New Hope Retreat Center, she faces both personal and professional challenges—especially after the arrival of the board's candidate to replace her. Not only must she confront more unresolved grief from her past, but she's invited to embrace painful and unsettling insights about her own blind spots. How might disruption become a gift that opens the way to new growth? Wren's world is shifting and expanding as she presses forward in recovery from a period of deep depression. Still processing open questions around the death of her best friend, Casey, Wren stewards her grief by offering compassionate care to the residents of the nursing home where she now works. But the shedding of her old life is exhausting—especially as she doesn't yet see what new life will emerge. How might art continue to provide a pathway for deepening her awareness of God's presence with her? In this sequel to Shades of Light and Remember Me, fans of the Sensible Shoes series will not only be able to attend Katherine's final retreat sessions at New Hope but also encounter old and new friends along the way. Also available: Feathers of Hope Study Guide

Download or read book Rewilding the Way written by Todd Wynward and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get a free chapter here. When did we become so tame? How has “the good life” come to mean addiction to screens and status, fossil fuels and financial fitness? Can we break free to become the joyful and prophetic people God calls us to be? Trek along with wilderness guide Todd Wynward as he “rewilds” the Jesus Way. Seek the feral foundations of Scripture and the lessons that the prophets and disciples gleaned from wilderness testing. Packed with inspiring stories of how contemporary people and groups are caring for the land and each other, Rewilding the Way issues a call to action. Read about how reskilling and local food covenants are transforming churches, and how place-based activism and creative housing are nurturing communities. Learn from those who are recovering from affluenza, replacing visions of personal wealth with the commonwealth of the earth and restoring their humble place in the community of creation. Do you despair about life on our changing planet? Join the hopeful band of seekers of God and makers of change who are rewilding the Way. Watch an interview with author Todd Wynward: