Download or read book Stopping the Tragic Loss of Life Caused by Purposeless Living written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how. Friedrich Nietzsche A great tragedy of modern-day life is the fact that we seek a how to live before we have a why to live and we teach our children how to live without helping them first discover a why to live for, not knowing that when they and we have a why, the how will take care of itself. This book is my attempt to help people, especially the young, to discover the why of their existence. Arming people with the answer to this question is the most effective way I know to help stop the senseless violence that takes place in our society all too often. At the same time, I want to address the argument that life is so hard for our young black men that is why they sell drugs and commit other crimes as it is the only means they have to feed themselves and their families. As bad as things are for many of our inner-city youth, I dont believe they need less challenges but more, for the simple reason that it is obvious that the ones they currently face are not succeeding in drawing the best and champions out of them. And this is ultimately what every challenge should do no matter how tough it is or poor you are. Kids are not selling drugs on the corner because life is hard for them; they are doing so because that is the easiest thing for them to do versus going out and working a steady job eight hours a day. So dont tell me how unfortunate kids are today to have so many challenges. When I was growing up, I was told that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. What has taken the place of this saying in this generation is the belief that desperate times call for desperate measures. Desperate measures are not always the wisest choice of actions. What the youth today is doing to survive is desperate, but it is not truly necessary; in most cases, it is just convenient. Danny has been certified by Toastmasters International as a competent public speaker (1991 East Moline). He received his GED from the Chicago City Colleges (1981) and obtained a certificate in graphic arts from Southeastern Illinois College (1987). He is a former member of the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party. He spent twenty years in prison and ten in the Elgin Mental Health Center. While in the hospital, he wrote over eight hundred poems, three books of daily meditations, and numerous speeches and Afrocentric anecdotes. He also acted as a mentor for younger consumers while there, leading his own peer-support groups and chairing GROW for four years (200307). He has been clean of all illegal drugs for fourteen years. Since getting out of the hospital in 2013, he has written seven books: A Ten Part Book to Maximizing Your Potential; Life Poems; Three-Part Process to Breaking the Recidivism Cycle; Young, Gifted and Black; Redeeming the Time; Let Them Eat Cake; and The 50 Most Positive Things I Know About African Americans. Dannys mission is to provide others who have struggled with addictions and mental illnesses and a history of going back and forth to prison with a better image of what they can be with the use of faith and a meaningful life purpose as a guide. You can contact him for workshops and testimonies at [email protected].
Download or read book Treating Our Common Wound written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-07-18 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Wounded humans and feelings of victimization are more common than the common cold.” The abuse and betrayal of our trust takes many forms, it happens in the form of sexual and emotional abuse, molestation, infidelity, neglect, abandonment, four-hundred years of systemic racism, and other crimes, just to name a few examples of the ravishing of our most sacred possession -- our trust. There probably is not a person on this earth who has not been wounded in some form. If you have not been wounded, I am sure you know someone who has. Therefore, this book can be helpful to everyone who wants to get past being wounded, and begin the process of healing. If this sounds like something you want to undertake, I encourage you to take out some time for yourself to do for you, what only you can, namely, “Heal thy self.” There are as many families, communities, nations, and races as there are individuals who need healing from the abuse and betrayal of their trust. Thus, this book can be used as a tool for treating individual and collective wounds, as well as erasing generational curses. Danny has been certified by Toastmasters International as a competent Public Speaker (1991 East Moline). He received his GED from the Chicago City Colleges (1981) and obtained a certificate in Graphic Arts from Southeastern Illinois College (1987). He is a former member of the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party. He spent twenty years in prison and ten in Elgin Mental Health Center. While in the hospital he wrote over eight-hundred poems, three books of daily meditations, and numerous speeches and Afro-centric anecdotes. He also acted as a mentor for younger consumers while there, leading his own peer-support groups and chairing GROW for four years (2003-07). You can contact him at [email protected], for an appearance at your venue.
Download or read book A Little Life written by Hanya Yanagihara and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2016-01-26 with total page 833 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.
Download or read book Steps to Freedom written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2022-02-06 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Freedom is not free,” it took me nearly forty-years to realize this fact about freedom. It was not until I fully embraced the grace and love of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, that I experienced true freedom. This book gives a concise description of the byways and highways I took in order to arrive at the point in my life where I could honestly say, “FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, I AM FREE AT LAST!” In the course of me going from a man who spent 3/5th of his life behind prison bars and insane asylum fences. I can tell you that freedom was wasted on me as long as I took it for granted. I was delivered from all the mental, emotional and spiritual shackles that held me bound, the day I gave my life over to God. Now I can declare that I not only talk about the joy of being free, but can also testify that there is no more liberating freedom than that which comes with Christs’ blood bought Salvation, and the peace of mind that the Father gives all those “whose mind is stayed on Him.” It is my belief that none of us can get the full benefit out of freedom in its true form until we understand that, “The One we serve determines the rewards we get for our servitude.” The reality is, that as long as we live on this earth, we are going to serve either God and Jesus, or Satan and our flesh. Trust me when I tell you, “Your life will be a hundred times better off if you commit yourself to being in the will of God.” I hope that you will read my testimony as it is summed up in this small book, and know that what Jesus did for me, once I accepted the freedom he purchased for me on the Cross of Calvary, he will do the same thing for you.
Download or read book Pandemic Survival Manual Inspiring Meditations to Help Us Get Through These Difficult Times written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2020-05-13 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The two most powerful words in the world are, “I AM,” for anything we say after, I AM, we will believe and make come true, as we truly are whatever we say we are. If we say we are victors over this virus, we will prove it by conquering it with the faith and wisdom God gives us. Four other words that are as powerful as “I AM,” are, “I believe in you.” These four words have helped shepherd boys bring down giants and dreamers to shape history. What we believe about ourselves and each other is what is going to get us through this crisis. We have been commanded by God to speak to the mountain we want moved out of our way. This is a book that speaks to the warrior in every man, woman and child that is threatened by the Coronavirus or any other stealer of life. In times of trouble and darkness a standard must always be raised up to lead the people in battle. I perceive this book as being a beacon to guide us safely through this storm. No enemy prevails over the wall of our faith, for as he tries to scale its walls, we raise our faith to a higher level, forever determined to not let him supersede it. For every attack of the enemy we have a defense under the cover of God’s wing, which holds us as close to Him as He is to us. The right words at the right time can always spark a new hope and outlook for anyone who is being tried by adversity. This book may not stop this pandemic but I believe it can give us a reason to believe that it will be brought to an end soon enough. Just as we have gathered around the camp fire and fireplace in the past while the vigil candle burned in the window, we can gather around the words of this book to draw comfort and encouragement from people who know what it is to be tried by fire without being consumed. This is a small book but the inspiring quotes and mediations in it are big, they can do the soul good like a medicine if we take them with a little a faith in the strength they offer.
Download or read book The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality written by André Comte-Sponville and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poses an argument for living a spiritual life that is not dependent on religion, explaining that an acceptance of philosophical spiritual traditions and values does not require practitioners to embrace the existence of a higher order.
Download or read book The Sense of an Ending written by Julian Barnes and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-10-05 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.
Download or read book Reversing Willie Lynch s Slave Making Method written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reversing, Willie Lynch’s (a white slave owner from Jamaica) prescribed methodology for making an ideal slave, outlined in the manual he gave to white slave owners in 1712, on the banks of the James River, (Jamestown Virginia), titled, “Let’s Make A Slave,” is the motive for me writing this treaties. There usually is more than one reason why we succeed at our individual as well as collective goals. Likewise, there are several factors involved in our struggles. Therefore, this small book is not meant to be a cure all for what ails our family and community (African Americans). It is a partial solution to what I believe to be the primary cause of our difficulties, namely, the ramenets of the traumatic experience of four-hundred years of enslavement here in America, that have been passed down through our DNA. This Treaties is meant to address what has been too long ignored concerning why there is an epidemic of violence, addiction, sucide and crime in our homes and community. Our community is not only being devastated by these social-ills, but the gains we have made over the last hundred years through sacrifice and protests, are also being decimated. (dec·i·mate /desmt/ verb 1. Kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of. "the project would decimate the fragile wetland wilderness" 2. HISTORICAL kills one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group. "the man who is to determine whether it be necessary to decimate a large body of mutineers''). I note the definition of ‘decimate’ because I want to emphasize the point that we are literally dying by the tens-of-thousands at both our own hands as well as at those of police officers, who deem Black lives as expendable.
Download or read book Don t Judge Hug written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-03-04 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Public Service Campaign, “If you see something, say something,” was started after 911. I have seen things I do not think are kosher for too long without saying anything. My silence ends with this book. I have seen too many people being made to feel like they do not belong because they march to the beat of their own drum and stand opposed to the status quo. I am talking about the so-called minorities, the physically and mentally challenged, the poor and uneducated, those battling addictions, the old, the young, those to the religious left and right, as well as those in the LGBT community, and a marid of other individuals and groups who do not fit with the in crowd. It has almost gotten to the point that the only people welcome to the party are those who put a gag on their mouth and will do anything to fit in; hesitant to rock the boat, for fear of persecution. My goal with the writing of this book is to blow the trumpet to announce that it is time we start to do more hugging than judging each other. I am tired of seeing people hurt simply because they do not fit into the cookie cutter role and place society and tradition says they belong in. If I refuse to hug you, I have no right to judge you. The same goes for those who refuse to hug me because I am Black, a father, son, brother, uncle, have mental, emotional and spiritual challenges, battling addiction, loneliness, and uncertainty, homeless, am a returning citizen, unapologetically male and a follower of Jesus Christ, American and most importantly a free thinker. If you can find any reason not to hug me or I attempt to find a reason not to hug you, neither of us have the right to judge or say anything about the other. I am completing this book while I reside at City View Multicare Center in Cicero, where I was blessed to find housing after being homeless for two years, as the result of a mental and drug relapse. I am thankful to the staff and residents here who have welcomed me into their midst with open arms. I pray that they will take a chance to read it and be encouraged to love and hug themselves as well as others every day. Though nursing homes are typically thought of as places of abandonment, there is a prevailing sense of family here at City View, which I am privileged to be a part of and supported by. Their Motto is, “Heroes live here and work here,” and it is true in every sense of the word. Who knows, if we all did a little more hugging and a lot less judging, we may find that many of our problems will go away.
Download or read book Sometimes I Lie written by Alice Feeney and published by Flatiron Books. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me: 1. I’m in a coma. 2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore. 3. Sometimes I lie. Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?
Download or read book Crisis Counseling Workbook written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I wrote this workbook because it disturbs me that a lot of individuals and communities are constantly living their lives in “Crisis Mode'' with little or no time and opportunity to realize their dreams. I believe a certain stigma is attached to those who are deemed by society (others) as always needing someone to rescue them from one crisis after another. Without naming names, I will say that for some this trend grows more prevalent with each passing generation. I want my family and peers to realize that we do not have to live on the edge as though we lack a foundation (culture) to stand on. There inevitably is more to all of us than our struggles but until we get past having our finger on the “Panic Button” we will not get a chance to display our audaciousness. I am confident that this “Crisis Counseling Workbook” can aid anyone whose life has gotten off track or who simply wants to succeed at creating a better life for themselves and their family, as well as improve the community they live in. “In the darkest hour, a pinprick of light is all that's needed to guide the lost home.” That said, please feel free to tweak this crisis counseling program to meet the particular needs and circumstances of those you are counseling.
Download or read book Too Much Loss Coping with Grief Overload written by Alan Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grief overload is what you feel when you experience too many significant losses all at once, in a relatively short period of time, or cumulatively. In addition to the deaths of loved ones, such losses can also include divorce, estrangement, illness, relocation, job changes, and more. Our minds and hearts have enough trouble coping with a single loss, so when the losses pile up, the grief often seems especially chaotic and defeating. The good news is that through intentional, active mourning, you can and will find your way back to hope and healing. This compassionate guide will show you how.
Download or read book Brothers Emanuel written by Ezekiel J. Emanuel and published by Random House. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER For years, people have been asking Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel, the brash, outspoken, and fiercely loyal eldest brother in the Emanuel clan, the same question: What did your mom put in the cereal? Middle brother Rahm is the mayor of Chicago, erstwhile White House chief of staff, and one of the most colorful figures in American politics. Youngest brother Ari is a Hollywood superagent, the real-life model for the character of Ari Gold on the hit series Entourage. And Zeke himself, whom the other brothers consider to be the smartest of them all, is one of the world’s leading bioethicists and oncologists, and a former special advisor for health policy in the Obama administration. How did one family of modest means produce three such high-achieving kids? Here, for the first time, Zeke provides the answer. Set amid the tumult of Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s, Brothers Emanuel recounts the intertwined histories of these three rambunctious, hypercompetitive Jewish American boys, each with his own unique and compelling life story. But ultimately, this is the story of the entire Emanuel family: the tough, colorful Old World grandparents; a mischievous, loving father who immigrated to the United States with twenty-five dollars and who enthralled his boys with tales of his adventures in Israel’s war for independence; and a proud, politically engaged mother who took the boys with her to rallies and protests—including a civil rights march through the streets of Chicago led by Martin Luther King himself. Even as the Emanuels distinguished themselves as individuals, the bond of brotherhood that tied them together was never broken. Brothers Emanuel is a wry, rollicking, and often poignant narrative of how one American family succeeded in raising three extraordinary children. Praise for Brothers Emanuel “An endearing, honest and gripping account of an American success story.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A beautiful portrait of growing up Jewish in an urban environment during an era of profound social change.”—Publishers Weekly “This delightful memoir is a deeply personal tale of one family, but it’s also about much larger things: America and tribal identity, love and rivalry, and the moral lessons to be learned as you grow up.”—Walter Isaacson “Fascinating . . . a classic tale of an immigrant family.”—Chicago Tribune “Mighty entertaining.”—The Hollywood Reporter “A clear-eyed, candid memoir that is unique and yet quintessentially American.”—BookPage “A fun read.”—The Forward
Download or read book Parenting Tips for a New Age written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-08-19 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Miracle of Belief Occurs Before The Miracle of Transformation” I wrote this book with all the mothers and fathers who are sometimes at a lost as to how to best guide their children through the difficult experiences of childhood and young adulthood in mind. Parenting is one of those assignments that is worth doing poorly at first, until you get better at the awesome privilege it is to nurture the souls, Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14 (KJV). Parenting is the one job we do not want to get wrong, yet the reality is that we usually are not aware of our mistakes with our children until after we have made them. God knows I am probably the last person who should be offering anyone advice on parenting , because of all the mistakes I made as a father. I nevertheless persist in this endeavour because of what the former Prime Minister of Great Britain said about the benefits of mistakes -- “No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.” Only what we put into raising our children can we expect to see them manifest. It is my hope that this small book, which features just a few of the lessons I have learned from the mistakes I have made and continue to make as a father, will help other parents become better at the job of nurturing the next generation of leaders and achievers
Download or read book God Is Bigger written by Danny Ray Christian and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2021-05-28 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “God is Bigger than all your problems and the world’s problems combined” Whether we want to admit it or not, many of us are just too dramatic when it comes to talking about our challenges and troubles. We always discover after we have gone through the storms of life, that they weren’t that bad after all. We find that we worry ourselves to death for no reason. The Psalmist tells us in Psalms 121:1, “A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help,” (KJV). Where our focus goes, so goes our trust and confidence, thus if we are focusing on our problems instead of on God and the Promises of His Word, we will inevitably be discouraged when faced with adversity. This book is about doing better as we learn better concerning what it means to trust God and walk by faith. I know that we can conquer all the obstacles in our lives if we follow the example of King David, and look up at the Savior Jesus Christ and Heaven, and not at the mud and mire at our feet (our problems). “No matter how big your problems or the world’s problems, GOD IS INFINITELY BIGGER!” Along with talking about the awesomeness of God in this book, I also share my thoughts about His Grace and the meaning of Faith. Overall the crux of all the spiritual issues addressed herein, is the fact that life is much better when you have a personal relationship and awareness of God the Father and Christ the Savior.
Download or read book And I Don t Want to Live This Life written by Deborah Spungen and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-10-12 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Honest and moving . . . Her painful tale is engrossing.”—Washington Post Book World For most of us, it was just another horrible headline. But for Deborah Spungen, the mother of Nancy, who was stabbed to death at the Chelsea Hotel, it was both a relief and a tragedy. Here is the incredible story of an infant who never stopped screaming, a toddler who attacked people, a teenager addicted to drugs, violence, and easy sex, a daughter completely out of control—who almost destroyed her parents’ marriage and the happiness of the rest of her family.
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.
