Download or read book Light Shines in the Darkness written by Lucille F. Sider and published by Read the Spirit. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clinical psychologist and clergywoman Lucille F. Sider adds her voice to the chorus of women in the #WhyIDidntReport and #MeToo movements. This is Lucille’s story of resilience and hope as a survivor of sexual abuse. She explains the challenges of finding her way out of a fear-based spirituality into one that is full of grace, hope and forgiveness. The unique richness of her book is that she wrote it to spark healing discussion. As she describes her experiences in these pages, she also steps back and offers helpful analysis as both a psychologist and a clergywoman. At the end of the book, she includes a complete study guide with questions for reflection for individuals, small groups and classes. “The book is arranged to be a valuable tool in the hands of persons in the helping professions, such as clergy, social workers, psychologists,” writes the Rev. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent Emerita and Ambassador of The Wesleyan Church. “This writing is so powerful, yet gentle, that people will be able to add their own words to combat the pain. Lucille’s credentials enhance the power of the story. Truly a book for these days!” Lucille was just 6 years old when she was abused both physically and sexually by a hired man on the family’s farm. Lucille’s inner conflict about these experiences, propelled her into a childhood of guilt and shame. While Lucille was an outstanding student, singer and athlete, she lived with an underlying fear, loneliness and mild depression. A second sexual abuse by her brother-in-law, when she was just 15 years old, added to Lucille’s fears. When she tried to tell her parents about this, their response was only to pray for her—so, she kept these painful events secret for years. Many years later, her brother in law was arrested for molesting a 15-year-old girl. Lucille and others, including his own daughter, testified against him and he was incarcerated. Raised in a conservative household and faith, Lucille went to college and seminary to search for a theology that was full of grace and forgiveness. She found this especially at Yale Divinity School, though she always lived with a mild depression. Her struggle to understand both her faith and psyche led her to earn a PhD from Northwestern University in psychology and religion. She became a clinical psychologist and pastoral counselor and later the Executive Director of The Samaritan Pastoral Counseling Center in Evanston, Illinois. At age 50, when her husband suddenly divorced her, Lucille was cast into darkness and despair which resulted in major depression. Lucille became dysfunctional and had to step down as Executive Director of her counseling center. Years of therapy led her to new ways of offering and sharing her gifts, which included writing stories and ministering to seniors, especially those suffering from dementia. In Light Shines in the Darkness, Lucille F. Sider shares her unique story of sexual abuse and severe mental illness, including depression and PTSD. She describes her legal battle in fighting for justice and her ongoing persistence in finding ways to remain stable. She calls these her mental health and spiritual practices and they include: counseling, medication, meditation, healthy diet, exercise, daily prayer and church attendance. In sharing her story, Lucille now is helping others along their journeys from sexual abuse to stability—to find their own hope and their own light that shines through the darkness. “Timely, compelling and courageous, this autobiography lays bare the trauma of both child and adolescent abuse,” writes Carol Schreck, Professor Emerita of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Palmer Theological Seminary. “This book deserves to be read by any adult who, living in a culture where 80 percent of females have experienced some form of sexual abuse by the age of 18, are no longer content to keep their proverbial head in the sand.”

Download or read book The Light Shines On in the Darkness written by Robert Spitzer and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why would an all-loving God allow suffering? Are not suffering and love opposed to one another? Does suffering have any meaning or benefit? Is there any objective evidence for God, for a soul that will survive bodily death, for the resurrection of Jesus? Who is God anyway – benevolent and loving, or angry and retributive? Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., gives a comprehensive response to these questions and many others, explaining the contemporary evidence for God, the soul, and the resurrection. He discusses how God uses suffering to lead us to compassion for others and eternal life. He also shows how the Holy Spirit guides us through times of suffering toward our salvation, explaining the signs and the interior movements that reveal the Spirit's actions. Fr. Spitzer not only addresses the perplexing questions associated with suffering but teaches us how to suffer well. He points out some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to interpret God's motives for allowing or alleviating suffering. He demonstrates why suffering – in combination with love – is one of the most powerful motivating agents for personal, cultural, and societal development.

Download or read book Holman New Testament Commentary Acts written by Kenneth Gangel and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 1998 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One in a series of twelve New Testament verse-by-verse commentary books edited by Max Anders. Includes discussion starters, teaching plan, and more. Great for lay teachers and pastors alike.

Download or read book The Light That Shines in Darkness written by Eva M. Lucious and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2009-01-30 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I'm evangelist Eva M. Lucious. I was born in Bainbidge, Georgia. At the age of three, my family and I moved to Steubenville, Ohio. I was married for twenty-eight and half years before I lost my husband in the year of 2000. I also have two daughters and eight grandchildren. My mission in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to serve others. My goal in life is to let others know that Jesus Christ is still active and living in the lives of all those that will receive him. I am an evangelist that have been preaching and teaching the word of the Lord for about twenty-two years before I lost my husband. We have people that say they had these near-death experiences when they had some type of tragedy almost unto death. But I would like to tell the world my story. While I was still walking around in my body, God took me to hell and back. He led me out of the dark, cold, lonely, and strange place by telling me to "follow the light, ." I had an encounter with God that changed my life so dramatically and supernaturally. After this experience, He began to show me himself through miracles, angel signs and wonders. Then he told me "to tell the story" regardless who believes it or not. Jesus is very much alive and rules and reigns in this cold dark world. He wants to show his power through and in every one of us. Its an encounter with God that changes your life. Jesus is the light that shines in darkness.

Download or read book The Greatest Gift written by Ann Voskamp and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2013-08-30 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling Christmas classic. Over 250,000 books in print. An annual bestseller. Thousands of readers have already fallen in love with Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, and this Christmas, Ann will help readers celebrate the lineage and the majesty of God’s greatest gift—Jesus Christ. In what has already become a holiday classic, Voskamp reaches back into the pages of the Old Testament to explore the lineage of Jesus via the advent tradition of “The Jesse Tree.” Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, The Greatest Gift retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day’s reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ. Sure to become a holiday staple in every Christian home, The Greatest Gift is the perfect gift for the holidays and a timeless reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

Download or read book God Notes written by Jackie Trottmann and published by DreamSculpt Media, Incorporated. This book was released on 2017-04-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About God Notes During a month-long prayer retreat, the author asked God to give her a word. The words tumbled out in the form of love notes from God resulting in 365 insightful passages, each inspired by one word - and each passage meant for you. This is the kind of book that deserves a permanent space on everyone's nightstand. About the Jackie Trottmann Jackie Trottmann left her corporate career behind to pursue God's call to share her personal experience of God's healing power and loving presence. Learning how to be still, let go, trust herself, trust others, and trust God, has been an ongoing spiritual practice. She teaches others how to do the same through her books, blog, media and ongoing workshops and retreats.

Download or read book The Spirit Led Leader written by Timothy C. Geoffrion and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2005-11-14 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In our postmodern, experience-oriented culture, people are longing for greater authenticity, integrity, and depth in their pastors and leaders. Board directors, church members, and staff alike are all eagerly seeking leaders who effectively integrate their spirituality and leadership. Pastors and executives, however, often struggle with knowing how to integrate their spiritual values and practices into their leadership and management roles. Designed for pastors, executives, administrators, managers, coordinators, and all who see themselves as leaders and who want to fulfill their God-given purpose, The Spirit-Led Leader addresses the critical fusion of spiritual life and leadership for those who not only want to see results, but who also desire to care just as deeply about who they are and how they lead as they do about what they produce and accomplish. Geoffrion creates a new vision for spiritual leadership as partly an art, partly a result of careful planning, and always a working of the grace of God

Download or read book Depression written by Edward T. Welch and published by New Growth Press. This book was released on 2011-10-03 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looking away from despair towards hope can feel risky. What if God doesn't come through for you? What if you don't feel instantly better? Instead of offering simple platitudes or unrealistic cure-all formulas, Edward T. Welch addresses the complex nature of depression with compassion and insight, applying the rich treasures of the gospel, and ...

Download or read book The Light that Shines in Darkness written by David Oman McKay and published by . This book was released on 1942 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Out of Darkness Shining Light written by Petina Gappah and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A powerful, moving, and revelatory novel set in nineteenth-century Africa--the captivating story of the loyal men and women who carried the body of explorer and missionary David Livingstone from Zambia to Zanzibar so that his remains could be returned home to England. Dawn, 1 May 1873, on the outskirts of Chitambo's village, near Lake Bangweulu in modern-day Zambia. The Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone has died. He had been heading south in the African interior on an increasingly maniacal mission to penetrate the greatest secret of Victorian exploration. He wanted to find the source of the world's longest river, the Nile. Instead, on an isolated and swampy floodplain, Dr. Livingstone found his death. How Livingstone is to be buried will be decided by his African companions, a group of sixty-nine men, women, and children. They decide that come what may, Livingstone, his papers and maps, must all be carried to England. They bury his heart and other organs under a tree and dry his flesh like jerky in the sun. Over nine months, battling severe illness and hunger, hostile chiefs and unknown terrain, all while taking a tortuous route of more than 1,000 miles to the coast to avoid marauding slave traders, they march with Livingstone's body and the evidence of his explorations. Their journey has been called "the most extraordinary story in African exploration." In this novel, their story is retold anew in the distinct, indelible voices of Livingstone's sharp-tongued female cook, Halima; a repressed, formerly enslaved African missionary named Jacob Wainwright; and the collective voice of the retainers. The result is a profound and tragic journey--an epic like no other--that encompasses all of the hypocrisy of slavery and colonization while celebrating resilience, loyalty, and love. In Out of Darkness, Shining Light, Petina Gappah has created an ambitious and artful masterpiece.

Download or read book Out of Darkness Came Light written by Donna M Murray and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2014-07-03 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you ready to be delivered from the bondage of your past hurts and pains? Are you willing to forgive, so that healing and restoration can take place? Out of Darkness Came Light is an awesome testimony of how God brought me out of darkness and how His grace brought me into the glorious light of His love. Youre about to be enlightened, transformed, and empowered by this God-inspired book full of encouragement and motivation. Get ready to be blessed!

Download or read book Light Over Darkness written by Kim C Steadman and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-06-07 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You've been trying to keep a positive outlook on life. But, a quick flip through a news channel and you are once again reminded that these are dark times. Where is the light in the world? Unless you make a practice of searching for good news, you may think there is nothing but bad beyond the walls of your home. The Light Over Darkness reading plan and journal provides daily Scripture references to help you guard your heart with remembrances of the One True Light. Whether you're going through your own personal time of darkness or you want to surround your heart with God's sovereign power, this journal will help you. Spending time each day meditating on the Scriptures will bring an illumination to your heart and spirit that comes from the only true Light. His light pierces through the darkest of situations. Are you ready to bask in a daily scriptures about light so you can understand and know God better? In this prayer journal, you will meditate on a daily scripture and prayerfully ask God to speak to your spirit. This act of contemplative prayer with the scripture is also referred to as lectio divina, or Divine Reading.This daily journal contains sections for: Daily gratitudeDaily confessionDaily prayerPrayer isn't a magic pixie dust by following a certain pattern ensuring an answer. But, prayer is an intimate conversation with God. A prayer journal is a tool to lead you into a deeper conversation with Him. It is my hope that the scriptures listed in this journal helps you to deepen your relationship with Him. Whether you spend five minutes in prayer or five hours, the important thing is your quality of time in prayer, not the quantity of time.

Download or read book The Gospel According to Matthew written by and published by Canongate U.S.. This book was released on 1999 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

Download or read book The Freedom to EAT written by Jackie Trottmann and published by . This book was released on 2019-01-03 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What secrets do you have? If you struggle with your weight, your relationship with food, body image, self-criticism, doubt, fear, shame, self-loathing, and any number of other issues, I would venture to guess that you struggle in secret. The secrets to lasting weight loss and inner peace are hidden from you. You are too wrapped up in your present preoccupation to see them. If you are carrying a lot of emotional and spiritual weight, this weight can be much heavier than physical pounds reflected on a scale. Within these pages you will find relief. More importantly, you'll find the invitation to true freedom. Break the bonds of self-imposed limitations. Discover what is holding you back from becoming the unique and powerful person you were created to be. Give yourself permission to play again and to pursue the dreams you may have buried deep inside of you. By putting these secrets into practice, you will experience a lighter body, mind, and spirit. You will find lasting weight loss and inner peace.

Download or read book The Practice Co Volume Three written by Liz Milani and published by New Luminary Media. This book was released on 2020-11-16 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2012 I began writing (and designing) short devotional pieces. We posted them on Instagram thinking that our friends and family would politely like them. But to our absolute shock, complete strangers liked them, too. A few years on, and here we are. I never dreamed that Pocket Fuel would turn into this practice and lead me to you. I'm forever grateful for it, no matter how rudimentary and humble our beginnings were.Not too long into our Instagram experiment, we found ourselves asking deeper questions around our faith. Everything we thought we knew; thought we had a handle on; thought was secure and for always; was challenged, questioned, and stripped bare. We experienced tragedy at home, and at work. We quit our jobs as Pastors, and started from scratch (faith and vocation) in our mid thirties. But through what felt like the death of all we thought we knew and would be, we found beauty and community. Our faith has a vibrancy that it was once devoid of. And our questions and doubts? I no-longer feel guilty for having them. They are an active part of my faith.

Download or read book Marian Consecration with Aquinas written by Matt Fradd and published by . This book was released on 2020-02-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: St. Louis de Montfort's classic Total Consecration to Mary has seen a massive resurgence in recent years, with Catholics around the world consecrating themselves to Our Lady...but some can find it hard. I, too, yearned for that closeness to Jesus through Mary, but in a format that I could stick with. Finally, I stumbled upon Aquinas, and a passage about what motivates religious to consecrate themselves. He writes that it is their great desire to "offer to God all the one has." Wow That stuck with me, and as I dived deeper into Aquinas, his love of Mary and her desire to bring us closer to her Son really struck a chord. So I decided to try to offer all that I had to Jesus through Mary, using the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas as my guide. After all, it's not just religious who are called to holiness. We all are It is my great hope that this method will captivate you like it has me, and lead you to closer union with Jesus as you offer him yourself through Mary.

Download or read book Light Shines in the Darkness Pack of 25 written by and published by Good News Publishers. This book was released on 2019-01-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a true Light who has broken into the dark world to save those who will receive him.