Download or read book Refusing Heaven written by Jack Gilbert and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2009-04-02 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than a decade after Jack Gilbert’s The Great Fires, this highly anticipated new collection shows the continued development of a poet who has remained fierce in his avoidance of the beaten path. In Refusing Heaven, Gilbert writes compellingly about the commingled passion, loneliness, and sometimes surprising happiness of a life spent in luminous understanding of his own blessings and shortcomings: “The days and nights wasted . . . Long hot afternoons / watching ants while the cicadas railed / in the Chinese elm about the brevity of life.” Time slows down in these poems, as Gilbert creates an aura of curiosity and wonder at the fact of existence itself. Despite powerful intermittent griefs–over the women he has parted from or the one lost to cancer (an experience he captures with intimate precision)–Gilbert’s choice in this volume is to “refuse heaven.” He prefers this life, with its struggle and alienation and delight, to any paradise. His work is both a rebellious assertion of the call to clarity and a profound affirmation of the world in all its aspects. It braces the reader in its humanity and heart.

Download or read book The Man Who Refused Heaven written by Paramhansa Yogananda and published by Crystal Clarity Publishers. This book was released on 2017-06-15 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joy Is Fundamental to Who We Are Paramhansa Yogananda translated the classic definition of God given by Swami Shankarananda, “Sat-chid-ananda,” as, “Ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy.” Yogananda added the concept of “new” to the ancient definition. Yogananda explained that God became His creation, which means that all of life exists, is conscious, and has the quality of joy innately within it. This is why human beings universally seek happiness. It is our nature to be happy, and the search for happiness motivates everyone. A master is one who has united his consciousness with Satchidananda, and so you see in the masters profound joy. Some share this joy outwardly through their personalities; others may be more serious outwardly, but great joy sparkles in their eyes and is felt in their presence. Yogananda's experience of life, his experience of the goal of all life, was filled with joy. He lived in joy always, and sought to awaken it in others. Though he could be intensely serious and deep as appropriate, he also could express the greatest joy, often in unexpected situations. The humor in The Man that Refused Heaven arose spontaneously from Yogananda's deep joy. Sometimes he used humor to express an important spiritual principle. Sometimes he used it in training the disciples, to help them learn in a way that reasoned lectures could never achieve. Most of the humor in this book was taken from Yogananda's writings. Also included are experiences with the master that demonstrate his playful spirit. These were written by Swami Kriyananda, from his years of being trained personally by Yogananda, or from stories that were shared with him by other close disciples. The message of this book is both playful and serious. The serious message is that joy can be found within us always. We should look for it there and share it with others.

Download or read book Life Between Lives written by Michael Newton and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2004 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The founder of the Society of Spiritual Regression provides a guide for hypnotherapists and the general public to access the spiritual world.

Download or read book The Laws of the Spirit World written by Khorshed Bhavnagri and published by Jaico Publishing House. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WITH A BRAND NEW LOOK! ON FEBRUARY 22, 1980, KHORSHED AND RUMI BHAVNAGRI’S WORLD WAS SHATTERED. ONE MONTH LATER, A NEW ONE OPENED. Khorshed and Rumi Bhavnagri lost their sons, Vispi and Ratoo, in a tragic car crash. With both their sons gone, the couple felt they would not survive for long. They had lost all faith in God until a miraculous message from the Spirit World gave them hope and sent them on an incredible journey.

Download or read book A Stranger in the House of God written by John Koessler and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-08-30 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man’s land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped—and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim’s Progress, it traces the author’s journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith

Download or read book The Five People You Meet In Heaven written by Mitch Albom and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2009-06-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE INSPIRATIONAL CLASSIC FROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER WHOSE BOOKS HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 40 MILLION READERS 'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecilia Ahern _________ To his mind, Eddie has lived an uninspiring life. Now an old man, his job is to fix rides at a seaside amusement park. On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie's time on earth comes to an end. When a cart falls from the fairground, he rushes to save a little girl's life and tragically dies in the attempt. When Eddie awakens, he learns that the afterlife is not a destination, but a place where your existence is explained to you by five people - some of whom you knew, others who were ostensibly strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, five individuals revisit their connections to Eddie on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his 'meaningless' life and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: 'Why was I here?' __________ WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN 'Breathtakingly beautiful. A story that will stay with you forever' 'A beautiful and flawlessly choreographed book . . . No other book may ever compare' 'One of my favourite books . . . Wonderful, inspirational, and heart-warming! To me, it is a MUST READ! 'The book is beyond words . . . Well written, engaging, poignant' 'This really is a wonderful book. You should read it'

Download or read book Can t Wait to Get to Heaven written by Fannie Flagg and published by Random House. This book was released on 2006-11-28 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining southern warmth with unabashed emotion and side-splitting hilarity, Fannie Flagg takes readers back to Elmwood Springs, Missouri, where the most unlikely and surprising experiences of a high-spirited octogenarian inspire a town to ponder the age-old question: Why are we here? Life is the strangest thing. One minute, Mrs. Elner Shimfissle is up in her tree, picking figs, and the next thing she knows, she is off on an adventure she never dreamed of, running into people she never in a million years expected to meet. Meanwhile, back home, Elner’s nervous, high-strung niece Norma faints and winds up in bed with a cold rag on her head; Elner’s neighbor Verbena rushes immediately to the Bible; her truck driver friend, Luther Griggs, runs his eighteen-wheeler into a ditch–and the entire town is thrown for a loop and left wondering, “What is life all about, anyway?” Except for Tot Whooten, who owns Tot’s Tell It Like It Is Beauty Shop. Her main concern is that the end of the world might come before she can collect her social security. In this comedy-mystery, those near and dear to Elner discover something wonderful: Heaven is actually right here, right now, with people you love, neighbors you help, friendships you keep. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is proof once more that Fannie Flagg “was put on this earth to write” (Southern Living), spinning tales as sweet and refreshing as iced tea on a summer day, with a little extra kick thrown in.

Download or read book Heaven and Hell written by Bart D. Ehrman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-03-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over half of Americans believe in a literal heaven, in a literal hell. Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible. Ehrman shows that eternal rewards and punishments are found nowhere in the Old Testament, and are not what Jesus or his disciples taught. He recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. Ehrman shows that competing views were intimately connected with the social, cultural, and historical worlds out of which they emerged. -- adapted from jacket

Download or read book Not Yet Married written by Marshall Segal and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.

Download or read book I Love Jesus But I Want to Die written by Sarah J. Robinson and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Download or read book Heaven Has No Favorites written by Erich Maria Remarque and published by Random House. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of the twentieth century’s master novelists, the author of the classic All Quiet on the Western Front, comes Heaven Has No Favorites, a bittersweet story of unconventional love that sweeps across Europe. Lillian is charming, beautiful . . . and slowly dying of consumption. But she doesn’t wish to end her days in a hospital in the Alps. She wants to see Paris again, then Venice—to live frivolously for as long as possible. She might die on the road, she might not, but before she goes, she wants a chance at life. Clerfayt, a race-car driver, tempts fate every time he’s behind the wheel. A man with no illusions about chance, he is powerfully drawn to a woman who can look death in the eye and laugh. Together, he and Lillian make an unusual pair, living only for the moment, without regard for the future. It’s a perfect arrangement—until one of them begins to fall in love. “The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure.”—The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book The Church of England magazine afterw The Church of England and Lambeth magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 1870 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book My Time in Heaven written by Richard Sigmund and published by Whitaker House. This book was released on 2009-12-14 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is there life after death? After a tragic accident, doctors pronounced Richard Sigmund legally dead. Eight hours later, God miraculously brought him back to life on the way to the morgue. During those hours, God allowed him to experience the glorious beauty, heavenly sounds, sweet aromas, and boundless joys of heaven that await every believer. God then returned him back to earth with a mission to tell the world what he saw. You will thrill to Sigmund’s eyewitness accounts of strolling down heaven’s streets of gold, seeing angels playing with children, talking with Jesus, meeting with people from the Bible, as well as departed family and friends, seeing the mansions, and much more! Through Sigmund’s testimony, God restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and even raised several people from the dead. Also, glimpse into the horrifying reality of “the other place”—a place where no one wants to go.

Download or read book The Great Refusal written by Maxwell Gray and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Playing God written by Andy Crouch and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-09-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With Playing God, Andy Crouch opens the subject of power, elucidating its subtle activity in our relationships and institutions. He gives us much more than a warning against abuse, though. Turning the notion of "playing God" on its head, Crouch celebrates power as the gift by which we join in God's creative, redeeming work in the world.

Download or read book Beyond the Shadowlands Foreword by Walter Hooper written by Wayne Martindale and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Those who know Lewis's work will enjoy Martindale's thorough examination of the powerful images of Heaven and Hell found in Lewis's fiction, and all readers can appreciate Martindale's scholarly yet accessible tone. Read this book, and you will see afresh the wonder of what lies beyond the Shadowlands.

Download or read book Love Wins written by Rob Bell and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions—so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? What if it is God who wants us to face these questions? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the "good news" is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love wins.