Wrestling for the Blessing: When 'Bad' Things Happen to 'Good' People

Wrestling for the Blessing: When 'Bad' Things Happen to 'Good' People PDF

Author: Sara Thompson

Publisher: PublishAmerica

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1629074373

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"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though NOTHING is a miracle, and the other is as though EVERYTHING is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein and I believe on miracles—join us! In fact, if I could just say one thing to you, it would be; ‘Always, always, always… Expect a Miracle!’ Through the pages of my book you will find sometimes graphic and possibly disturbing situations. But, don’t give up—please continue reading—I promise you, I reveal the blessings hidden deep inside all of those uglier ‘messings’. Together, we will uncover: The blueprint to wrestling for your very own blessings The secrets to revealing your personal miracles The process to doubling your blessings by paying them forward.

The Magnificent Defeat

The Magnificent Defeat PDF

Author: Frederick Buechner

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 1985-05-08

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 006061174X

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In The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner examines what it means to follow Christ, the lessons of Christmas and Easter, the miracles of grace, and "the magnificent defeat" of the human soul of God.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

When Bad Things Happen to Good People PDF

Author: Harold S. Kushner

Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0805241930

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Offers an inspirational and compassionate approach to understanding the problems of life, and argues that we should continue to believe in God's fairness.

Gospel Medicine

Gospel Medicine PDF

Author: Barbara Brown Taylor

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 156101110X

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Gospel medicine is Barbara Taylor's metaphor for the healing power of God seen in the active and ongoing restoration of this broken world. In this new collection of sermons she practices the old-fashioned art of gospel home remedies like a true evangelist, summoning with piercing clarity and wit the Old and New Testament stories that have the power to mend our spirits, strengthen our weaknesses, and restore us to wholeness. Scripture comes to life in the contemporary people and places of which Taylor speaks. Georgia apple-growers become God's sharecroppers of the gospel parable; through Mary's embracing of her role as God-bearer we are dared to take risks in our own discipleship; in Jonah's angry stand-off with God we see reflections of our own struggles with a God who is more forgiving than we want him to be; with tender awe after years of waiting Sarah wipes her hands on her apron and goes to tell Abraham she is to bear a child. Through the stories of Scripture, Taylor addresses with moving simplicity the contemporary wounds of anger, abandonment, fear of judgment, and a longing for home, healing, and mercy.

On Job

On Job PDF

Author: Gustavo GutiŽrrez

Publisher: Orbis Books

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1608331245

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Walking Through Fire

Walking Through Fire PDF

Author: Vaneetha Rendall Risner

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 2021-01-19

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1400218128

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The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy. Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again. She had four miscarriages. Her son died because of a doctor's mistake. And Vaneetha was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, meaning she would likely become a quadriplegic. And then her husband betrayed her and moved out, leaving her to raise two adolescent daughters alone. This was not the abundant life she thought God had promised her. But, as Vaneetha discovered, everything she experienced was designed to draw her closer to Christ as she discovered "that intimacy with God in suffering can be breathtakingly beautiful."

No More Faking Fine

No More Faking Fine PDF

Author: Esther Fleece Allen

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2017-01-10

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 0310344778

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Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.

The Case for Heaven

The Case for Heaven PDF

Author: Lee Strobel

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0310358434

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Bestselling and award-winning author Lee Strobel interviews experts about the evidence for the afterlife and offers credible answers to the most provocative questions about what happens when we die, near-death experiences, heaven, and hell. We all want to know what awaits us on the other side of death, but is there any reliable evidence that there is life after death? Investigative author Lee Strobel offers a lively and compelling study into one of the most provocative topics of our day. Through fascinating conversations with respected scholars and experts--a neuroscientist from Cambridge University, a researcher who analyzed a thousand accounts of near-death experiences, and an atheist-turned-Christian-philosopher--Strobel offers compelling reasons for why death is not the end of our existence but a transition to an exciting world to come. Looking at biblical accounts, Strobel unfolds what awaits us after we take our last breath and answers questions like: Is there an afterlife? What is heaven like? How will we spend our time there? And what does it mean to see God face to face? With a balanced approach, Strobel examines the alternative of Hell and the logic of damnation, and gives a careful look at reincarnation, universalism, the exclusivity claims of Christ, and other issues related to the topic of life after death. With vulnerability, Strobel shares the experience of how he nearly died years ago and how the reality of death can shape our lives and faith. Follow Strobel on this journey of discovery of the entirely credible, believable, and exhilarating life to come.

Wrestling for Blessing

Wrestling for Blessing PDF

Author: Marilyn McCord Adams

Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.

Published: 2005-02-01

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 0898699193

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Why are the sermons of Marilyn Adams so great? First, she has the most extraordinary intimacy with Holy Scripture; it's truly a living, breathing body of work in her experience. Second, as a human being she remains passionately in the given moment; her acute awareness of raw life all around her is fresh and surprising. Third, Marilyn Adams belongs to an authentic, queer, visionary breed; she is a prophet. The Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd author of "Are You Running with Me Jesus?" This collection of sermons offers the reader a series of reflections that are both profound and intimately playful. The reflections are oriented toward justice in the public sphere, yet remain focused on Christian personal growth and transformation. Known internationally for her academic and historial writings, in this work, Professor Adams brings her powerful theological and philosophical conclusions to bear on the practical and pastoral questions of contemporary Christian life. Mostly preached in various parishes in Los Angeles, California, where Adams is in residence at St. Mary in the Palms, these sermons seek to integrate difficult issues?such as the plurality of religions, questions of sexuality, race, and inequality?with the daily life of the Christian community.

Teach Me To Feel

Teach Me To Feel PDF

Author: Courtney Reissig

Publisher: The Good Book Company

Published: 2020-01-01

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1784985139

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Meditations on the Psalms helping women to express their feelings and grow in their faith. Many of us suppress our feelings because we’re worried they are ungodly. Others of us are so led by our emotions that we let them dominate everything, including our faith. In these honest, personal and uplifting meditations on 24 selected psalms, Courtney Reissig looks at emotions we all experience, ranging from shame, anxiety, and anger through to gratitude, hope, and joy. For each, she shows how the psalms give us permission to acknowledge how we feel before God, and how they can help us to use those feelings productively and faithfully. This inspiring book will give women a language to cry out to God in order to help them process their feelings, as well as help them to grow in their faith. Can be used as a daily devotion.