Spiritual Growth Love

This is a book about discovering what we really need. There are a lot of second-best options, but we weren't made to live a second-best life. Finding what we actually need is different than what we are often offered. There are many books full of opinions, steps and programs. This isn't one of them. This is about craving the things that matter. Things that don't just work, but last.

In Wounded by God’s People Anne Graham Lotz draws on the biblical story of Hagar to show those who have been hurt by God’s people how to move past their wounds into the joy and fellowship of His presence, claiming the fullness of the blessings God has for them.

You are not alone. Whether you’re a free spirit, an office exec, a writer, musician, college student, or tired parent - your soul, like mine, knows life is meant to go beyond rat races and rare applause. This book speaks to that belief. And if you’re not careful, you may find tears warming your eyes as you read because finally someone is naming your weariness, your striving, your questions of why you just can’t quite make it, or the emptiness that hit because maybe you did.

When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search of a husband, her identical twin, Amanda, promises their parents she’ll convince Darla to come home. After all, Amanda is the responsible and reliable one. She has always protected Darla, who acts on impulse and trusts people too easily. The sisters’ close relationship is strained as Darla asserts her independence, and Amanda grapples with regrets of her past and the longings of her own heart.

A devotional that will lead you into a fresh experience of God's love and power by exploring the Hebrew names of God revealed in Scripture and showing you how to pray them on a daily basis. Names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another; they often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. Praying the Names of God is a 26-week devotional study that explores the most prominent names of God in the Old Testament to reveal the deeper meanings behind them and to teach you how to pray through them.

Nowhere was the vitality of Jesus more visible than in His love - compassionate, honest, powerful, humble, and sacrificial. Get to know Jesus, observe His life and His love as they unfold in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Combined with author Paul Miller’s own life stories, Love Walked Among Us will encourage you to imitate Jesus’ way of loving people in your relationships and community. Become more like Jesus and grow in your relationship with God.

God created us with divinely sophisticated tools and features, but most of us aren’t using them. The result is an inner worth we aren’t aware of, and a life unknowingly lived at half capacity. Neighbor, Love Yourself launches an internal expedition to uncover hidden features installed long ago. Our inner worth isn’t rusty, just dusty. As we locate and reconnect vital principles and truths, we will unearth a value inside ourselves that most of us have never come anywhere close to experiencing.

Do you dare believe in a God who wants to make your dreams come true? It seems like there is no time to dream these days. Yet the Bible is full of dreamers - those who exchanged their old dreams for new ones, and those who received unexpected dreams from God that changed the course of history. Best-selling author Sheila Walsh gives warm-hearted stories of real people, interwoven with biblical insight, to help you discover God's dream for your life.

Joshua Becker weaves together personal stories, biblical teachings, and practical advice to help you let go of consumerism and worldly possessions and to instead embrace the great joy Jesus offers. This positive and compelling book serves as both a personal and collective call to action, urging you to own less, love more, and realize your full potential in God's kingdom. Rooted in the teachings of Jesus, Uncluttered Faith argues that true spiritual fulfillment and abundant life are found not in accumulation but in simplicity and generosity.

In No Greater Love, Rebecca McLaughlin walks us through the highs and lows of friendship love—a love that’s been neglected and malnourished in our modern world. She draws especially on Jesus in the Gospels and on Paul to show how powerful and precious Christian friendship is and how we can walk through the hurt, loss, and disillusionment that comes from broken friendship trust. Beginning with the words of Jesus on the night he was betrayed and abandoned, she points us to his battle-tested love as the unending source of our best love for one another.

This 40-day devotional based on the classic best-selling novel Redeeming Love leads you on a personal, six-week journey into God's all-consuming embrace.

Thomas Keating was a Cistercian monk who founded the worldwide 'Contemplative Outreach', teaching people the art of meditation. Invitation to Love provides a road map for the journey that begins when Centering Prayer is seriously undertaken. Pointing to some of the recognizable landmarks on this journey, as well as to its ultimate destination, Father Keating addresses common questions regarding contemplative practice: How will it affect my life? Where does it lead us spiritually? What obstacles will I encounter along the way? How does it work?

How do we find contentment in God when we feel so hidden? Sara Hagerty unfolds the truths found in the biblical story of Mary of Bethany to discover the scandalous love of God and explore the spiritual richness of being hidden in him. Every heart longs to be seen and understood. Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated. In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only one who truly knows us.

Michael W. Smith, multi-platinum artist, celebrated songwriter, producer, best-selling author, and acclaimed actor, himself a father of five adult children and grandfather of sixteen, calls upon his humble experiences of growing up in a small West Virginia town to share his father’s story. Each chapter identifies a quality and characteristic of his dad that came out of an obedient and sacrificial life, committed to serving his Abba Father.

Hidden from the dawn of time by revealed to us in God's word, is the greatest mystery of all - oneness with Christ. We were created not just to be like him, but to become truly one with him. In Consumed By Love, Duncan tells the story of his journey into discovering the God of love who in Christ became one with all of humanity. This priceless act of love holds the key to each of us living an extraordinary life on earth that only God can live, accessing his infinite riches and supernatural power and giving it away to the world.

Georgia’s new husband began acting strangely on their honeymoon. Then he started controlling every aspect of her life and cutting her off from her family and friends. Forbidden to finish her last quarter of university or even play and sing at her beloved piano, she learned to lean deeply on God as she raised their two young sons in this dark environment. The bizarre behavior escalated into mental and physical abuse, and her husband was often hospitalized after being diagnosed first with manic depression, then schizophrenia.

At age five, in the backyard of her suburban Long Island home, Anna Raimondi had a profound experience. A contemplative child, she slid her body into the small grotto that once held a statue of the Blessed Mother. Anna remembers “a feeling of pure and unadulterated peace”. In that peace, she heard a voice. It was gentle and strong, and it said, “Anna, I am here for you always. Always come to me.” That was the beginning of their first conversation.

Bestselling authors Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk help you unlock a vibrant life uniquely suited to your personality, season of life, and schedule limitations. Packed with encouragement, biblical advice, real-world help, and personal discovery, this forty-day journey helps you discern and pursue your passions and priorities; craft a personalized action plan deeply rooted in Scripture; manage the tension between your relationships and your responsibilities; cultivate a life-giving routine of rest and productivity; and impact others for eternity through your life and gifts.

When I Am Second launched in 2008, the organization intended simply to tell stories of lives changed utterly by people placing God first and themselves second. Although the organization has exploded in size and influence since, that original mission has remained the same - and continues to have enormous power and influence today.

With a fresh, uplifting perspective on an often-told story, Amy Boucher Pye unpacks the dynamics of Jesus’s remarkable friendships with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, inviting you to be transformed by the same love that upended their lives. With prayer exercises and reflection questions, Transforming Love is the perfect resource for your personal time with God as well as group discussion.