Obsessed World

We live in a society where kids and parents are obsessed with early achievement, from getting perfect scores on SATs to getting into Ivy League colleges to landing an amazing job at Google or Facebook - or even better, creating a start-up with the potential to be the next Google or Facebook or Uber. We see software coders becoming millionaires or billionaires before age 30 and feel we are failing if we are not one of them.

Every day, we’re bombarded with pressure to be positive. From “good vibes only” and “life is good” memes, to endless advice, to “look on the bright side,” we’re constantly told that the key to happiness is silencing negativity wherever it crops up, in ourselves and in others. Even when faced with illness, loss, breakups, and other challenges, there’s little space for talking about our real feelings—and processing them so that we can feel better and move forward.

Do you yearn for more meaning, connection, and the ability to respond to life’s curveballs more creatively than reactively? If so, you’ve likely found that hard work, material success, and even years of expertise often aren’t enough. What stands in the gap between your busyness and a life filled with cherished moments? For years, Jeffrey Davis has researched, interviewed, and worked with luminaries across cultures and professions to answer that question. What he’s identified is a single universal experience that opens us to creative awakening across all walks of life: wonder.

In Who Are You Following? best-selling author and social media personality Sadie Robertson Huff dives deep into exploring who we are allowing to influence our daily thoughts and actions.

No matter how old you are, there's a good chance that the word popular immediately transports you back to your teenage years. Most of us can easily recall the adolescent social cliques, the high school pecking order, and which of our peers stood out as the most or the least popular teens we knew. Even as adults we all still remember exactly where we stood in the high school social hierarchy, and the powerful emotions associated with our status persist decades later. This may be for good reason.

Empowering, insightful, and psychology-driven, Beyond Beautiful is filled with proven, no-BS strategies for proactive self-care. This stylish and practical handbook takes a deep-dive into all of the factors that make it hard to feel good about yourself, and offers sage answers to tricky questions. Beyond Beautiful is a much-needed breath of fresh air that will help you live your best life, know your worth, and stop wasting any more precious energy and mental space worrying about the way you look.

As we struggle to keep up in a knowledge economy that never sleeps, we arm ourselves with life hacks, to-do lists, and an inbox-zero mentality, grasping at anything that will help us work faster, push harder, and produce more. There’s just one problem: most of these solutions are making things worse. Creativity isn’t produced on an assembly line, and endless hustle is ruining our mental and physical health while subtracting from our creative performance. 

There’s no doubt that technology has made it easier to communicate. It’s also easier to shut someone out when we are confronted with online discourse. Why bother to understand strangers - or even acquaintances - when you can troll them, block them, or just click “Unfriend” and never look back? However briefly satisfying that might be, it’s also potentially eroding one of our most human traits: empathy.

Over the course of a year, the members of the now infamous Bling Ring allegedly burglarized some of the biggest names in young Hollywood. Driven by celebrity worship, vanity, and the desire to look and dress like the rich and famous, these seven teenagers made headlines for using Google maps, Facebook, and TMZ to track the comings and goings of their targets. Many of the houses were unlocked. Alarms disabled. A "perfect" crime - celebrities already had so much, why shouldn't the Bling Ring take their share?

Technology affects every interaction, shapes our identities and constantly hijacks our attention. So how can we reclaim our power and feel less helpless at every stage of our lives? We speak as though technology is a powerful, unstoppable force and we are the victims. 'What is this technology doing to us?' we ask. But are we as helpless as we assume? Elaine Kasket connects the dots between our technology usage and the challenges it poses to our identity and development, and to our relationships and privacy.

Influential online apologist Melissa Dougherty brings sharp thinking, a quick wit, and a passion for truth to Happy Lies as she explores New Thought, the 1800s-era toxic positivity philosophy still making us miserable, anxious, and spiritually confused today. This groundbreaking book propels us out of our loneliness and into the freedom that comes from believing in something outside of ourselves, resting in a love that doesn't have to do with our moods, and knowing an eternal truth greater than any "authenticity" masquerading as our savior.

Hilty draws on timeless biblical wisdom and presents a refreshing perspective on happiness that is still relevant today. His writing is clear, concise, and thought-provoking, and he emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility, self-awareness, and cultivating a positive mindset. This audiobook reminds us that true happiness comes from within and is not dependent on external circumstances.

In a fast-paced world filled with social media posts, video games, and television, it’s up to you to protect your child and help him/her stop relying on electronic devices for entertainment or relief. Help your child reap the immense physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of yoga at home! 

If you are listening to this, chances are you are already practicing yoga yourself and you already know all the benefits of yoga for adults. The inner calmness, improved focus, and enhanced self-awareness that yoga can provide to you is a true gift. Now you can easily introduce your little one to yoga and become yogis together! In a fast-paced world filled with social media posts, video games, and television, it’s up to you to protect your child and help him/her find some inner peace.

Social media is a great place to keep up with family, friends and your favorite influencers online, but if we’re not careful, we can get caught trying to become who we’re following on social media, rather than following Jesus and becoming more like him. We can start trusting voices of people we’ve never met over the one voice who knows and loves us most. In this five-session experience, Sadie challenges us to consider who we’re following and how we are influenced. What would it look like if we were led by God’s love instead of by strangers' likes?