The Problem with Pitchforks
and Red Satin Jumpsuits
Understanding the Myths About Satan, Jesus’ Victory Over Him, and What That Means for Us
Grand Rapids, Michigan—The Bible is clear that Jesus has defeated our 
Enemy. We are free—but until Christ comes again, we remain in enemy territory. What do we need to know about Satan while we live within his territory? What is his chief aim in the world? What will we do if Satan holes up in our daughters’ doll collections?
“One of the reasons I am writing this book [Living Free in Enemy Territory] is my concern that pop culture has shaped our view of Satan more than the Bible has,” explains Greg Dutcher.
Avoiding the sensational approach to Satan that is heavy on intrigue but light on substance, Greg Dutcher shows us how understanding Satan’s true portrait allows us to fully celebrate Christ’s victory. His conversational and at times humorous writing style makes a difficult topic accessible.
In Living Free in Enemy Territory, Dutcher offers:
- Prayerful meditations to help readers bask in the joy and confidence the gospel offers
- Questions for reflection and discussion, making this useable for group studies
- An appendix of quotations from great Christian “back-talkers to the devil”
Greg Dutcher is senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in Fallston, Maryland. He is the author of Living Free in Enemy Territory and You Are the Treasure That I Seek. He and his wife, Lisa, have four children. As a boy, Greg snuck downstairs during the night to watch horror movies. Today he writes to dispel pop culture’s myths about Satan.
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To schedule an interview with Greg Dutcher, please contact Katy R. Pent at
kpent at dhp dot com.
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One Woman. One Dream.
One Unbelievable Story.
From the Grief of a Graveside to the House of Laughter
in a War-Torn Country
Grand Rapids, Michigan—“Every day, I walk down the streets of Mitrovica, Kosovo. Ten years ago, when I came here, this was the flashpoint city between two cultures that were separated by a river, a bridge, and broken hearts.” Nadine Hennesey, recently widowed, also arrived in Kosovo with a “broken heart.”
Nadine Hennesey grew up learning lessons of perseverance, courage, and
godliness. She needed every one of those resources when she lost her young husband after only 11 months of marriage. Widowed and pregnant with their child, struggling to overcome the pain of her devastating loss, she renewed her trust in God. To honor the dreams she and her husband had shared and to follow God’s leading, Nadine, along with her daughter Lydia, blazed a trail of adventure and godliness, reaching out to other women and children marked by suffering and loss. The result was a groundbreaking work in war-torn Kosovo. An inspiring story of what happens when you follow God, even when you don’t see His plan.
“I look out the window at my neighbor’s yard—half green from the sun and half shadowed and covered with snow. And I think that it’s easy to live in the shadow of our problems—the hard days, the misunderstandings, the tragedies,” Nadine shares. “This country has been scarred. Devastation is still a matter of short-term memory; civil war a decade ago killed 10,000 people. But it’s a new country. It needs leaders—leaders who have a vision for more than revenge, more than survival. They need to know how to live in the light. We all do.”
When You Don’t See His Plan shows how God uses an ordinary person in extraordinary ways to accomplish His purposes.
Nadine Hennesey is a graduate of Cedarville College and a teacher. In 2001 she founded the House of Laughter, a learning center for orphaned and semi-orphaned children in war-torn Mitrovica, Kosovo. She is now working on plans for the new Kosovo Leadership Academy.
Rebecca Baker teaches and directs in the theatre program at Cedarville University. She has participated in mission trips to The House of Laughter in Kosovo.
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To schedule an interview with Rebecca Baker, please contact Katy R. Pent at
kpent at dhp dot com.
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Transitioning Roles from
Parent to Friend
Positively Influencing, Respecting, and Communicating with
Adult Children
Grand Rapids, Michigan—As if parenting a teenager wasn’t a hard enough puzzle to figure out, once children reach adulthood a new shift begins.
Building on a solid biblical foundation, Mary Ann Froehlich offers effective and practical ways to transition from the parental training role to a new, expanded adult relationship based on friendship, influence, and mutual respect. While the irreplaceable parental relationship remains intact, this shift in perspective paves the way for the adult child’s personal and spiritual maturity.
Froehlich realistically helps parents understand how to remove roadblocks to an adult friendship with their children by showing them
- How to communicate—the most important building block in the foundation for friendship.
- How to treat adult children as friends.
- How to respect and let go.
- How to keep communication open when there is disagreement over choices.
- How to encourage and mentor.
Mary Ann Froehlich has written eleven books and numerous articles. She is a board-certified music therapist and Suzuki music teacher, and has worked in hospitals, schools, churches, and private practice. She has a doctorate in music from the University of Southern California and an MA from Fuller Theological Seminary. Mary Ann and her husband, John, have three children.
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Title: Parent or Friend? Subtitle: Transitioning from Parent
Author: Mary Ann Froehlich to Friend with Your Adult Child
ISBN: 9781572934511 Item #: Q1191
Page Count: 144 Size: 5.375 x 8
Format: Trade Paperback Release Date: September 1, 2011
To schedule an interview with Mary Ann Froehlich, please contact Katy R. Pent at kpent at dhp dot com.
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Wounded Warrior—Wounded Family:
Support, Encouragement and Resources from a Military Couple
Grand Rapids, MI—A 2010 study found that one in eight combat soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan experiences post-traumatic stress. One in ten are “seriously disabled” by mental problems according to this Walter Reed Army Institute of Research study. In addition to combat stress, constant deployments and long separations cause adjustment difficulties for soldiers, their wives, children and extended families. Many military couples and families lack the support, encouragement and resources to deal with stress and maintain healthy relationships. The resulting divorce rate is four times that of civilian marriages.
One military couple is working to strengthen, equip and encourage Armed Forces families and those who love them. Lt. Col. Tony Monetti, a command pilot, and director of operations of the 13th bomb squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, and his wife, Peggy Monetti, author, speaker and counselor of trauma and crisis victims, recognize the extraordinary challenges faced by military members. Yet, the Monettis say they feel “lucky to live a life of service and meaning.” In Called to Serve (Discovery House Publishers, 2011) they share their lives, personal struggles and practical life lessons, and extensive resources gleaned from more than twenty-three years of experience in the military.
The Monettis identified top stressors for military families using input from professional counselors and Armed Forces chaplains from various denominations. Called to Serve addresses issues such as fear, transition, loneliness, grief, destructive behaviors, and poor communication. These stressors are also common to civilians, but magnified for those in the military. Practical solutions are presented from personal experience and a faith-based perspective.
Called to Serve provides helpful insights on handling deployments, restoring hope to families living with post-traumatic stress disorder, safeguarding relationships, combating destructive behavior, and dismantling emotional land mines. Each chapter includes questions for individual reflection, a couple’s study or small group discussions. Of particular benefit are the issue-related links, a comprehensive list of resources for military families or those who love them.
To schedule an interview with Lt. Col. Tony and Penny Monetti, please contact Katy R. Pent at kpent at dhp dot com.
Lieutenant Colonel Tony Monetti, Director of Operations of the 13th Bomb Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, is an Air Force Academy graduate, a veteran combat command pilot of the B-52 and B-1 planes, and presently flies the B-2 stealth bomber. His honors include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. He is an author and speaker and Air Force spokesperson who motivates groups and corporate organizations worldwide. He was 
honored as Warrensburg, Missouri’s “2010 Man of the Year” for his outstanding contributions to the community.
Penny Monetti is an author, motivational speaker and member of the Advanced Writer’s and Speakers Association (AWSA). Certified to counsel trauma and crisis victims through the American Academy of Christian Counselors, she works with combat veterans and military families dealing with PTSD. She is the founder of Connected Hearts, assisting needy and homeless children, as well as an educator and a nurse at Kanakuk Christian Sports Kamp and at the University of Central Missouri Health Center.
Tony and Penny together founded Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Johnson County, Missouri, where they make their home. They own a popular Italian restaurant, and together have three children.
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Title: Prayers for Prodigals
Subtitle: 90 Days of Prayer for Your Child
Author: James Banks
ISBN: 978-1-59293-452-8
Binding: Paperback
Retail Price: $10.99
Page Count: 160
Product Code: N5346
Hope for the Parents of Prodigals
Prayers and Encouragement for Those Waiting for Their Kids to Return
Grand Rapids, MI—1 April 2011—Pastor James Banks isn’t preaching another sermon when he shares the message of his new book, Prayers for Prodigals. He and his wife, Cari, have been looking down the path, waiting for the return of their daughter and son. What he shares is both personal and practical.
In Prayers for Prodigals, Banks includes thirteen brief meditations drawn from Scripture and shares his and others’ experiences with prodigal children, including quoting from the accounts of such notables as Ruth and Billy Graham, as well as Monica, the mother of Augustine. He inspires parents to maintain a daily prayer effort for their prodigal children.
Parents of a prodigal know they can never pray enough. But how do parents persevere when they’re tired and discouraged? James offers encouragement for them to “come boldly before the throne of grace” and intercede daily for their children through ninety inspirational prayers.
James Banks, author of The Lost Art of Praying Together and Prayers for Prodigals, lives with his wife, Cari, in Durham, North Carolina, where he is the pastor of Peace Church. He and Cari have been married for 25 years and have two college-age children.
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Title: Restored!
Subtitle: Back to God’s Original Plan
Author: Dan Schaeffer
ISBN: 978-1-57293-454-2
Retail Price: $11.99
Binding: 6 x 9 paperback
Page Count: 176
Product Code: M5496
A Blueprint for Restoration
If distress is your story and restoration your hope, this book is for you
The Old Testament book of Ruth tells the story of two women who experienced a level of distress—resulting from their painful and desperate situations—that threatened to overwhelm them. It also offers an amazing blueprint of God’s plan for restoration—including our own.
Dan Schaeffer, in his new release, Restored!, shares how each “distress” God allows in our lives can become His divine brushstroke, adding color, maturity, depth of character, and a deep and eternal beauty that will be ours forever. God promises to restore what sin, and the effect of sin, has destroyed in our lives.
If your life is full of distress and restoration is your hope, Schaeffer wants to show you how you can be set free. Restored!
- explores the unexpected benefits of the distresses of life.
- offers the opportunity to reappraise the character of God.
- shows how to partner with God in restoration.
Dan Schaeffer pastors Shoreline Community Church in Santa Barbara, California. He is an award-winning writer whose articles have appeared in Reader’s Digest and A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul. His books include In Search of the Real Spirit of Christmas, When Faith and Decisions Collide, and A Better Country.
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Title: God’s Thrifty Extravagance
Subtitle: Understanding What the Bible Says About Money
Author: Jonathan Kopke
ISBN: 978-1-57293-453-5
Retail Price: $10.99
Binding: paperback
Page Count: 160
Product Code: JH353
Economic Clarity from Biblical Paradox
Understanding What the Bible Says About Money
The Bible says, “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.” But it also says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom.” The Bible’s instructions about money often seem contradictory. So what should we do?
Jonathan Kopke, in God’s Thrifty Extravagance, explores the seemingly contradictory ideas regarding money and demonstrates that these paradoxes actually reveal God’s truth to us. He encourages readers to reexamine their financial habits to survive tough economic times, helps them prepare for major life transitions, and shows them how to learn to use God’s blessing of money.
Jonathan Kopke graduated magna cum laude from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He worked for thirty-one years in information technology at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
In 1988, Kopke and seven of his friends covenanted to study the biblical teachings regarding stewardship, to apply them personally, and to teach them in their churches. He was challenged by the many seemingly contradictory statements made about money in the Bible. He has since committed to understanding and now teaching the biblical dynamic tensions that surround owning, saving, borrowing, giving, and spending.
Kopke’s understanding of Christian stewardship has expanded through his research and over twenty years of giving these presentations on the subject in a variety of educational settings. Jonathan and his wife live in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he serves as an elder in an inner-city church and works as a developer of medical information systems.
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Title: Friend of God
Subtitle: The Legacy of Abraham, Man of Faith
Author: Ray Stedman
ISBN: 978-1-57293-371-2
Retail Price: $14.99
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 256
Product Code: D9886
How to Succeed on the Journey of Faith
Discover How Every Event in Abraham’s Life Has Meaning for Your Life
If you’ve thought much about faith, you know that it is more complicated than just believing. Faith is a way of life. In the book of James, Abraham is used as an example of one whose “faith and actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did….and he was called God’s friend” (2:22, 23a)
In Friend of God, Pastor Ray Stedman (1917–1992) takes you on a rewarding and fascinating journey through the life of Abraham. His unique blend of insightful Bible teaching, delightful storytelling and conversational style draw readers into the mind of one of the greatest of all Old Testament heroes. Experience each episode of Abraham’s life in a new and life-changing way. As Pastor Stedman himself has said, “Each of the incidences in Abraham’s life [is] a luminous illustration of some New Testament event or truth.”
Pastor Stedman covers such topics as
- Areas in life that discourage faith and tempt us to flee
- How to find victory through life’s temptations
- Faith that conquers fear
- How prayer works
“As we follow in the footsteps of Abraham, the friend of God,” Stedman write, “we will find the joy and abundance and fruitfulness we desire, both in this life and in the life to come.”
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Title: Pure Desire
Subtitle: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture
Author: Gary Inrig
ISBN: 978-1-57293-383-5
Retail Price: $12:99
Binding: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 256
Product Code: L4499
Enjoying Sex the Way God Designed It
How to Live Christian Moral Values in Today’s Relativistic & Sex-Saturated Culture
As Gary Inrig writes Pure Desire, fires are raging out of control in Southern California; two firemen have been killed, and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed. It is fire such as this that Inrig compares to sex.
“Fire, in its proper place, is a great gift of God . . .,” writes Inrig, “The same can be said of sex. . . . Used as God intends, it consummates and enriches the most precious human relationship humans can experience. . . . But when it leaps God-given boundaries, it can become a source of great destruction, leaving behind a trail of tears—broken homes, broken hearts, broken hopes, and broken lives.”
Pure Desire looks at what biblical morality is in the light of the gospel and God’s call in our life. Inrig is not trying to reinforce some traditional understanding of marriage or sexual morality, but to ground it in God’s call for His people and humanity.
“We live in a culture that is not only fascinated by sex, but is also terribly confused by it.”
Many Christians either want to escape and hide away or are so influenced by the culture that their thinking is shaped by it and not by the purity of God’s Word.
“We’re not called to escape,” Inrig reminds Christians. “We’re called to live in the midst of our pagan culture and to model a different way of life, because of what the Lord is enabling us to do through His power.”
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Gary Inrig is a native of Canada and a graduate of the University of British Columbia and Dallas Theological Seminary. Since 1992, Dr. Inrig has been a pastor at Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Redlands, California, with an extensive conference ministry throughout North America.
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Title: Written in Tears
Subtitle: A Grieving Father Finds Comfort in Psalm 103
Author: Luke Veldt
ISBN: 978-1-57293-382-8
Retail Price: $10.99
Binding: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 176
Product Code: GP219
Lessons Never Learned in Sunday School
Surprising Truths about God’s Compassion in the Midst of Incredible Grief
“Forty years of faith, distilled in this moment to a single paralyzing thought: Is any of it true? Is there really a God? Or is this the way faith begins—with hurting people who invented a God they desperately needed?”
Luke Veldt and his family had spent years on the mission field telling others about Jesus. Suddenly and without warning, their world crashed as their thirteen-year-old daughter, Allison, collapsed and died of a massive brain hemorrhage. What kind of a God would allow a child to die? Veldt questioned.
Despite his doubts, Luke turned to the Bible for answers to his questions and comfort for his grief. In Psalm 103, which he read every day for a year, Luke discovered a kindred spirit in King David, who knew what it was like to be in the pit. Luke also discovered that he was learning more about God in his sorrow than he ever had in times of joy.
In his book Written in Tears, Luke looks at topics such as
- the Father’s embrace
- the sacrifice of praise
- forgiveness
- when God doesn’t heal
- how friends can give comfort to those grieving
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Luke Veldt is a church-planting missionary who served in Romania for ten years and then in Pamplona, Spain, for four. He and his wife, Jodi, have six children, ranging in age from 7 to 21.Three years ago his fourth child, Allison, died suddenly at the age of 13.
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Title: Doing Well at Being Sick
Subtitle: Living with Chronic and Acute Illness
Author: Wendy Wallace
ISBN: 978-1-57293-387-3
Retail: $12.99 (Trade) / $10.95 (Direct)
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 240
Product Code: PF456
How the Chronically Ill Can Find Joy, Escape Self-Pity, and Navigate the Health Care Maze
Spiritual Wisdom and Practical Advice
Based on her twenty-year journey through chronic illness, Wendy Wallace shares practical suggestions for dealing with illness, helping others understand the struggles of the chronically ill, changing personal attitudes, navigating the medical system, and relying on God for strength. She encourages her readers to draw as much as they can from modern medicine but focuses on truths about life, death, joy, pain, and eternity. The author reminds the chronically ill to keep their physical, emotional, and spiritual selves in balance while facing the daily challenges of loving others, working with vast medical bureaucracies, and growing in their relationship with God.
“Wendy has created a wonderful reading experience for patients, support persons, and health care providers. In my several decades of practice in internal medicine and cardiology I have seen no one with as long a list of diverse and often unrelated major medical problems remain so full of life and appreciation for every day.” ~Melvyn Rubenfire, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of Preventive Cardiology, University of Michigan
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Wendy Wallace practiced clinical social work for over thirty years, maintaining a private practice in which she counseled persons from age eight to eighty. She has taught college for many years and has authored three college textbooks. She has been coping with both acute and chronic illness for twenty years.
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Title: A Heart for God
Subtitle: A Companion Bible Study to Above All Love
Author: Julie A Link
ISBN: 978-1-57293-380-4
Retail: $8.95
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 144
Product Code: C5343
A Life-Changing Look at the Greatest Commandment
Nurturing the Believer’s Response to God’s Love
What does it mean to love God with every aspect of our being—heart, soul, mind, and strength? This book and study questions were inspired by Julie Ackerman Link’s study and research for her book Above All, Love and developed for her own small group. This life-changing look at what Jesus called “the greatest commandment” offers insight and biblical underpinnings and nurtures the believer’s response to God’s love as the author explores each aspect of this commandment and what all of Scripture has to say on the subject. This in-depth study is perfect for group study or for personal devotional use.
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Julie Ackerman Link has been in the publishing industry for almost 30 years and is the owner of Blue Water Ink, a company that specializes in writing, editing, designing, and typesetting. She is a contributor to the popular devotional Our Daily Bread and is the author of Above All, Love.
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Title: Beyond the Valley
Subtitle: Finding Hope in Life’s Losses
Author: Dave Branon
ISBN: 978-1-57293-373-6
Retail: $10.95
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 176
Product Code: TE236
Facing the Pain, Experiencing the Hope
Finding Grace to Travel to the Other Side of Loss
Where is God when the bottom drops out? The easy answers may be true enough, but when loss and sorrow come our way, when the pain goes deeper than we ever thought possible, it’s hard to find comfort in the thought of a loving God. Yet there is a light beyond the darkness, and hope for hopelessly broken hearts to find peace. Dave Branon knows.
Our Daily Bread writer Dave Branon never expected to have valleys on the topographical map of his life. A trusting Christian, he was enjoying a life of blessing with his wife and four children. While life wasn’t always perfect, Dave and his family were traveling on the road to peace and contentment, toward the mountain and far from the valley.
Until a beautiful spring evening in June 2002 when his daughter Melissa—a vivacious, talented, happy seventeen-year-old—was killed instantly when she was in a car accident on her way home from a day at the lake with her friends.
“Our lives veered off the path we thought would be ours for the rest of our time on earth. We . . . went straight into the valley—an unfamiliar, dark, and deep ravine of near hopelessness,” Branon shares.
In his new release, Beyond the Valley, Dave Branon shares frank, practical insights and comfort for those who suffer. He points the way to healing for life’s deep wounds and renewed confidence in God’s love for you. And Branon isn’t afraid to address serious issues such as how we can understand the sovereignty of God in the midst of personal loss.
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Dave Branon is an editor for Discovery House Publishers and RBC Ministries and is a popular contributor to Our Daily Bread. He has written over two thousand devotional articles and fourteen books, including Heads Up and Undefeated, as well as Bible studies such as Did Christ Really Rise from the Dead?
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Title: I Do
Subtitle: 30 Readings to Inspire Love and Conversation About Issues in Marriage
Authors: Gladys and Keith Hunt
ISBN: 978-1-57293-377-4
Retail: $9.95
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 144
Product Code: GL918
Insights on Marriage from a Journey of 50 Years
Readings to Inspire Love and Conversation about
Important Issues for Couples
From over fifty years of experience, Gladys and Keith Hunt originally wrote this collection of readings for their own grandsons. They desired to share with them some of the wisdom they have gained and “to remind our grandchildren of what love looks like in everyday life. We designed the content so that they would do three things in each reading: listen to God, talk together about what He said, and then ask for His help.”
Gladys and Keith have never lost touch with the young. Through their own children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and years of ministry with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, the Hunts have stayed relevant in their understanding of what couples face today.
“God is a ‘relational’ expert,” write the Hunts. “He created us for relationships—a relationship with Him and with each other. Marriage is His idea. Who better, then, to tell us how to make the marriage relationship work for us?”
Building a thriving marriage doesn’t happen by accident. The Hunts arranged their readings to get couples to read, think, and talk with each other about topics that can strengthen and enrich life together.
Gladys and Keith conclude their sections by asking questions such as
- Do you want your own home to be a singing household?
- How will your trust in God affect your trust in each other?
- What can you do to assure that your home is a safe place?
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Gladys and Keith Hunt ministered to generations of university students through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The Hunts have written numerous books and Bible studies, individually and separately, and Gladys’s book Honey for a Child’s Heart is considered a classic. The Hunts live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Title: Best Friends with God
Subtitle: Falling in Love with the God Who Loves You
Author: Christy Bower
ISBN: 978-1-57293-372-9
Retail: $10.95
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 128
Product Code: DE209
Includes: Study Questions
Discovering the One Thing You’ve Longed for All Your Life
Taste the full, life-changing reality of God’s love not just for anyone, but for you
You’ve heard it said, you’ve said it to others, and you know it’s true: God loves you. Why, then, is it often so hard to feel like He loves you? Why the gap between what we say about God’s love and what we experience of God’s love?
In Best Friends with God, author Christy Bower captures the longing of our hearts as she takes a closer look at the problem: We want “to be in a relationship [with God] that is personally relevant and dynamic…We want a page-turner that keeps us engaged from beginning to end with love, drama, constant action, and ever-present hope in spite of impossible circumstances.”
Thoughtful, passionate, intimate, and filled with insights from the lives of Bible characters such as Paul, Job, Mary of Bethany, and David, this is a breakthrough book that will help you move past your fears and disappointments. Imagine what it would be like to feel like you truly are God’s closest friend! Christy shows how you can experience in your heart the love you long to receive from God, and give to Him what He most desires from you: your love for Him.
If we begin to pay attention, we will notice God’s gestures of love toward us, and His tokens of love will lead us back to Him. When we trust God and turn to Him, we can enjoy the blessing of being best friends with God.
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Christy Bower is the author of Devotion Explosion: Getting Real with God and numerous articles for Christian publications. She graduated from Multnomah Biblical Seminary. When she isn’t writing, she works at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Whitefish, Montana. You can read more from Christy at www.ChristyBower.com and http://christybower.wordpress.com.
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Windows on EasterAuthor: Bill Crowder
ISBN: 978-1-57293-367-5
Price: $8.95
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 128
Size: 6.8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
Product Code: FY406
Open the Windows to a Fresh Perspective on Easter
Looking at Eyewitness Views of the Death & Resurrection of Christ
If you could open a window into the souls of witnesses to the events from Gethsemane to the Emmaus Road, what secrets might you find?
Bill Crowder, in his new release Windows on Easter, helps you peer into the culture, beliefs, and perspectives of those who were there, giving you a chance to share anew the experience and profound effect of Easter.
Crowder suggests that getting a fresh perspective on the Easter events can renew your desire to know the One who loved us and gave himself for us.
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Bill Crowder served more than 20 years as a pastor in Michigan, West Virginia, and California. Bill now serves in a dual role as Director of Church Ministries and Associate Bible Teacher for RBC Ministries. In recent years, he has also been active in an international Bible conference ministry. His commitment in ministry is to the clear and practical teaching of the Bible.
Additionally, Bill serves as managing editor for the Discovery Series Bible Study Guides. He has written 13 booklets for the popular Discovery Series and is a regular contributor to the daily devotional Our Daily Bread.
He and his wife Marlene have five children: Matt, Beth, Steve, Andy, and Mark—as well as several grandchildren.
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Title: The Roller Coaster of UnemploymentSubtitle: Trusting God for the Ride
Author: Sarah Hupp
ISBN: 978-1-57293-376-7
Price: $9.95
Page count: 160
Product Code: TV960
Help for Getting through Job Loss
Hope for those riding the ups and downs of unemployment
You’re climbing the heights—and then the track disappears! That’s the roller coaster of unemployment. More people are unemployed than at any time since the Depression. If ever we needed encouragement and the reassurance that God can be trusted no matter what, now is the time.
In The Roller Coaster of Unemployment, Sarah Hupp, whose family has experienced unemployment 15 times, wants to remind Christians: “The Bible says when God’s children call out to Him in their distress, He hears and comes to their aid. Sometimes He acts instantaneously, but sometimes His timetable takes a little longer. Yet He is always faithful to provide for His children.”
With spiritual and practical advice, Sarah casts a ray of hope for believers who are unemployed or underemployed. She gives a helpful reminder that God is our strength and hope and can be trusted to get us through the ups and downs of unemployment.
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Sarah M. Hupp is a freelance writer, editor, and Bible study teacher. She has authored numerous books, including 100 Questions and Answers about God, Checklist for Life for Moms, and Prayer Moments for Busy People. Sarah and her family live near Nashville, Tennessee. They have experienced the roller coaster of unemployment 15 times.
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Title: Wise ParentingSubtitle: Guidelines from the Book of Proverbs
Authors: Paul and Catherine Wegner and Kimberlee Herman
ISBN: 978-1-57293-352-1
Binding: Paperback
Regular Price: $10.95
Pages: 192
Product Code: SM288
Becoming a Wise Parent
Guidelines from the Book of Proverbs for Progressively Disciplining Your Child
Children aren’t born knowing everything they need to know to become mature, responsible human beings. Parents must teach them. But sometimes, at the end of the day, the exhausted, frazzled, or frustrated parent asks . . . How?
The book of Proverbs is filled with golden nuggets of parenting wisdom. But how do you apply the full counsel of Proverbs in raising your children? Many parents base their entire disciplinary style on just a handful of verses. There’s a far more effective approach.
In Wise Parenting, Dr. Paul Wegner partners with his wife Catherine and co-writer Kimberlee Herman to equip you with a comprehensive, multi-level system for disciplining your children that is deeply rooted in God’s Word. The levels fall within three main categories: learning guidelines, reiterating guidelines, and enforcing guidelines. Bringing to light principles that have been proved through generations of successful parenting, Wise Parenting gives you solid, practical guidance for raising godly children using the same disciplinary approach that God himself uses with His people.
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Paul Wegner has been professor of Old Testament at Phoenix Seminary since 2001, and he has been a visiting professor at Southwestern Bible College since 2003. He has degrees from Moody Bible Institute, Trinity International Seminary, and King’s College, University of London. Wise Parenting is Dr. Wegner’s fifth book.
Catherine Wegner was a stay-at-home mom for twenty years. She now works as a speech pathologist in several elementary schools.
Co-author Kimberlee Herman is a clinical social worker who has dealt with a wide variety of behavioral issues with children.
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Title: The Lost Art of Praying TogetherSubtitle: Rekindling Passion for Prayer
Author: James Banks
ISBN: 978-1-57293-351-4
Price: $9.95
Binding: Paperback
Product Code: Q7585
Date Night—With the Church
Why Praying Together Is Essential for Spiritual Health
When the early church in Jerusalem prayed, an angel delivered Peter from execution. When Paul and Silas prayed, an earthquake shattered their prison door.
God responds when His people unite their voices in prayer. So why is prayer together a lost art for many Christians today? How can we reclaim the blessings of corporate prayer, and what can happen when we do?
James Banks, author of The Lost Art of Praying Together, writes: “Whenever something significant happens in the history of the church—whenever lives are transformed and revival occurs—people are praying together.”
Banks reminds us that where two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, Jesus himself is present—and amazing things can happen. Through both the Scriptures and real-life stories, Banks encourages you to rediscover the power and the rewards of joining together in prayer.
“God loves it when His children pray, and He wants our prayers together to be a constant source of life-transforming encouragement and hope,” Banks says. “God has great plans for our prayers, and our ‘skill’ at prayer has nothing to do with it.”
Banks examines what keeps us from praying together, explains how these excuses hinder God’s work through the church, and reveals what we have been missing.
“For those who are searching for spiritual renewal, one could hardly recommend a better place to begin than with the reading of James Banks’s excellent new book, The Lost Art of Praying Together.” ~Garth M. Rosell, Professor of Church History, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
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James Banks is a writer, pastor, and church planter who lives in Durham, North Carolina. He and his wife Cari have been married for 25 years and have two children in college.
James is a graduate of Westmont College (B.A.), Princeton Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry).
James is a gifted speaker and was the recipient of several awards for informative and expository speaking at state and national levels while in high school and college. He is also fluent in Spanish and German. He is a member of the Church Prayer Leaders Network, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), and Durham Ministers in Prayer.
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Title: More Than An AspirinSubtitle: A Christian Perspective on Pain and Suffering
Author: Gay Hubbard
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-257-9
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 352
PrProduct Code: A8960
Good News About Bad News
Thinking Constructively About Pain
Pain happens. But is it merely something to be endured, or is there a way to redeem what we experience?
Christian counselor and author Dr. M. Gay Hubbard has spent more than thirty years in a private counseling practice.
“Making life’s bad times produce good results requires more than magic or more than a metaphorical aspirin and a good night’s sleep,” she says. “Producing good results requires effort and conscious choice at a time when energy and motivation are in short supply and faith is often under siege by doubt.”
In her book More Than an Aspirin, Hubbard shares what she has learned about living with pain through her own and her patients’ journeys. Pain can be either physical or emotional, but both can and must be managed to allow good to come of it.
Hubbard analyzes human reactions to pain and the strain that pain often places on our relationship with God. She explains positive ways that those who are in pain can care for themselves and shows readers how to embrace “the biblical concept of endurance.” Community proves vital at these times, yet there are important boundaries that we need to put in place at the same time. And she shows how we can pray no matter what we are facing.
Summarizing the good about life’s bad news, Hubbard shares: “We can make a vital connection with God through our joy, but the journey through pain provides a grimly splendid option. Uniquely there, we can come to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, and, in this knowing, become like Him (Philippians 3:10-11). It is a prospect to strengthen the weariest pilgrim, worn with the worst of pain.”
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Dr. M. Gay Hubbard has more than thirty years of experience as a Christian counselor and lives in the Denver area. Gay is the author of Women: The Misunderstood Majority and co-author of Marriage Made in Eden, which has been required reading for some college level classes. She focuses her efforts on understanding people’s developmental life cycles, their needs and responses in counseling, and the integration of psychology.
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Title: A Different Dream for My Child
Subtitle: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children
Author: Jolene Philo
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 272
Price: $10.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-307-1
Product Code: QM248
Where Do Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children Turn for Help and Encouragement?
Help and Encouragement for Mom and Dad
If your child or the child of someone you know struggles with a life-threatening or chronic illness, then you know how all-consuming such circumstances are. There’s no such thing as having a “normal life,” only a relentless and often lonely roller-coaster of giddy hope, stark fear, blessed victories, and shattering defeats—and constant prayer.
Jolene Philo knows how it is because she and her husband have traveled that road with their own son. In A Different Dream for My Child, Jolene shares frank, heartfelt meditations to build your faith and hope. You won’t find trite, easy words. You will find rare understanding, refreshing honesty, and a wise spiritual companion to walk with you through the highs and lows that only the parents of chronically ill children can know.
Read what others are saying about A Different Dream for My Child.
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Jolene Philo has been a teacher for 25 years and has published numerous articles on parenting a special needs child and preparing children for a hospital stay. She is a regular contributor to a regional monthly women’s magazine, has spoken to MOPS groups, and is a commentator of Iowa Public Radio’s “Iowa Voices.”
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Title: You Are the Treasure that I SeekSubtitle: But There’s a Lot of Cool Stuff Out There, Lord
Author: Greg Dutcher
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 144
Price: $11.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-309-5
Product Code: SE365
Idolatry for the Twenty-First Century
Finding Freedom from What Holds Us Back on the Journey with God
In the Old Testament you could spot idolatry quickly, and throwing an idol into the fire or knocking over a stone altar seemed to be an easy solution. What about today? Are idols just a part of the Old Testament past or of an Indiana Jones adventure?
In You Are the Treasure That I Seek, Pastor Greg Dutcher takes a new look at an old problem with witty and relevant insights to help you identify idolatry in this modern world.
What captures and holds your attention? Discover the true treasure that you seek: the incomparable beauty of Christ. You’ll find questions at the end of each chapter, making this a great book for individual or group use.
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Greg Dutcher is a senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in Fallston, Maryland. He and his wife, Lisa, have four children.
”Greg Dutcher’s book serves as a set of ‘night-vision goggles’ to help us root insidious idols out of our hearts. Then he goes further and restores and renews us in full-fledged adoration of Jesus.” ~Kris Lundgaard, author of The Enemy Within
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Title: Hope
Subtitle: A Holy Promise
Author: Oswald Chambers
Compiled/Edited: Julie Ackerman Link
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 176
ISBN: 978-1-57293-319-4
Product Code: T9253
Regular Price: $12.95
We all need hope, particularly in these difficult times, and Christians have a hope that the world knows nothing of. For believers, the word hope expresses not uncertainty, but certainty, a glorious expectation of the future based on God’s holy promise.
This book of quotes by Oswald Chambers will build up your hope and focus it where it belongs: not on changing circumstances, but on the unchanging Word of God.
Best known for his classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest, Chambers has much to say about the precious gift of hope—and about the one in whom we hope, Jesus Christ.
Brand new to the series of Oswald Chambers gift books, Hope: A Holy Promise includes reflection questions to help you connect Chambers’ biblical wisdom to your own life.
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Title: Power Up! Diamond Edition
Subtitle: Devotional Thoughts for Baseball Fans
Author: Dave Branon, editor
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-1- 57293-318-7
Product Code: A1352
Regular Price: $10.95
Baseball—the great American sport. Power Up! Diamond Edition takes you behind the scenes—at bat, in the outfield, and into the lives of the colorful players who make baseball one of North America’s most beloved pastimes.
But this is much more than a book of great sports stories. It’s a hard-hitting devotional that draws examples from the world of baseball to illustrate profound, life-changing principles from the Bible. What is the relationship between spring training and spiritual fitness? Find out.
This fast-paced devotional gives you Scripture verses, Top 100 Christian ball players, Fast Facts, and, most importantly, biblical insights and applications to help you live your faith like a champion.
Title: Power Up! Links Edition
Subtitle: Devotional Thoughts for Golfers
Author: Dave Branon, editor
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-1-57293-320-0
Product Code: EM505
Regular Price: $10.95
From the explosive energy of a drive to the intense concentration of a tough putt, Power Up! Links Edition takes you behind the scenes of pro golf.
Step onto the links and into the lives of the PGA’s greatest Christian players. Learn the secrets to their success and what they learned from their failures.
This hard-driving devotional draws examples from the world of golf to illustrate profound, life-changing principles from the Bible.
Both exciting and informative, Links Edition gives you Scripture verses, Top 100 U.S. golf courses, Fast Facts, and, most importantly, biblical insights and applications to help you live your faith like a champion.
Title: Power Up! Outdoor Edition
Subtitle: Devotional Thoughts for Sports Men
Author: Dave Branon, editor
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-1-57293-319-4
Product Code: C7767
Regular Price: $10.95
From the rustling of a grouse flushing underfoot to the explosion of a bass hitting a topwater lure, Power Up! Outdoor takes you on exciting adventures in outdoor sports.
Head to the duck marshes and the trout streams with some of the world’s greatest Christian sportsmen. What can you learn about patience from one hotheaded fisherman? Find out!
This colorful and engaging devotional draws examples from the worlds of hunting and fishing to illustrate powerful principles from the Bible.
You’ll find Scripture verses, Top 100 Tips, and, most importantly, biblical insights and Follow the Compass applications to help you live your faith like a champion.
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Title: Adventuring Through the Life of Christ
Subtitle: A Bible Handbook on the Gospels and Acts
Author: Ray C. Stedman
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 978-1-57293-311-8
Product Code: QA925
Regular Price: $7.95
Title: Adventuring Through Paul’s Epistles
Subtitle: A Bible Handbook on Romans through Philemon
Author: Ray C. Stedman
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 272
ISBN: 978-1-57293-312-5
Product Code: JR901
Regular Price: $9.95
Title: Adventuring Through the General Epistles
Subtitle: A Bible Handbook on Hebrews through Revelation
Author: Ray C. Stedman
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 160
ISBN: 978-1- 57293-315-6
Product Code: W0311
Regular Price: $7.95
Ray C. Stedman (1917-1992) was pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, CA for 40 years. He is the author of over 18 books, including Body Life, Authentic Christianity, and Let God Be God.
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Title: Living with Thorns
Author: Mary Ann Froehlich
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-1-57293-263-0
Product Code: DJ926
Regular Price: $11.95
As Christians, we are enamored with the success stories. We revel in God’s miracles. But, Mary Ann Froehlich, author of the new release Living with Thorns, asks, is there a deeper miracle that we are missing?
“We may be overlooking the miraculous lives of those who live with visibly unchanged circumstances, the ‘less than success’ stories,” observes Froehlich. “If you see yourself in this group, you are in good company. Many of God’s followers throughout Scripture are our models. This book is about the imperfect life.”
Instead of asking “why,” maybe we should be asking “who.” Who do we turn to when life becomes unbearable? The answer: God. He speaks to us through our affliction and uses our thorns to rescue us and draw us closer to Him.
If you struggle with thorns that you cannot overcome, Mary Ann Froehlich offers comfort, encouragement, and tangible survival tools for facing unchanged circumstances and fighting the despair that so often accompanies our pain.
Mary Ann Froehlich is a music therapist-board certified and Suzuki music teacher. She and her husband, John, have three children. Mary Ann has worked in hospitals, schools, churches, and private practice. She has written articles, music, and eleven books. She has a doctorate in music from the University of Southern California and an MA from Fuller Theological Seminary.
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Title: Singing the Songs of the Brokenhearted
Author: Bill Crowder
BISAC categories: Religion/Christian Life/Inspirational
Binding: Softcover
Page count: 160
Price: $10.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-274-5
Product Code: RJ499
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,” Psalm 34 reassures us. Indeed, like no other book in the Bible, the Psalms affirm the full range of human emotions, inviting us to relate to our heavenly Father with complete trust and openness.
In Singing the Songs of the Brokenhearted: Psalms that Comfort and Mend the Soul, Bill Crowder reveals a loving God who understands your heart through and through.
Searching ten “songs of the brokenhearted” for the wisdom and comfort they offer, Crowder helps you discover an intimacy with God that only the sorrowing heart can know. He offers an insightful exploration of ten of these Psalms:
Psalm 6: The Heart Broken by Grief
Psalm 12: The Heart Broken by Despair
Psalm 13: The Heart Broken by Defeat
Psalm 22: The Heart Broken by Sin
Psalm 32: The Heart Broken by Guilt
Psalm 39: The Heart Broken by Fear
Psalm 42: The Heart Broken by Depression
Psalm 56: The Heart Broken by Hate
Psalm 69: The Heart Broken by Stress
Psalm 73: The Heart Broken by Unfairness
Bill Crowder served more than 20 years as a pastor in Michigan, West Virginia, and California. Bill now fills a dual role as director of church ministries and director of publications for RBC Ministries.
Additionally, Bill serves as managing editor for the Discovery Series Bible Study Guides. He has written 13 booklets for the popular Discovery Series, as well as a number of books, and is a regular contributor to the daily devotional Our Daily Bread.
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Title: Teach Us to Number Our DaysAuthor: David Roper
BISAC categories: Religion/Christian Life/Inspirational
Binding: Hardcover
Page count: 288
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-196-1
Product Code: E8917
From middle age on, we tend to view the future with growing trepidation. What lies ahead? How much of our lives did we waste? Does who we are, and who we are becoming, still count in this rapidly changing world? With sensitivity, honesty, and insight, David Roper takes you to the heart of the questions every one of us must face.
Is the second half of life truly the best? It certainly can be. Inviting you to travel with him on his own “journey to maturity,” Roper assures you that you are not winding down, but growing up into a new season of fruitfulness. And in God’s economy, nothing—not even your sins and foolish choices—is wasted.
Calling you to both frank self-reckoning and joy, Teach Us to Number Our Days is an uplifting look at the possibilities that lie ahead.
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Author Bio
David H. Roper has published many books and devotionals. He was a pastor for more than 30 years and now directs Idaho Mountain Ministries, a retreat dedicated to the encouragement of pastoral couples. He enjoys fly-fishing, fly-tying, hiking, and just being streamside in the mountains with his wife Carolyn.
His favorite fictional character is Reepicheep, the tough little mouse that is the “soul of courage” in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. His favorite biblical character is Caleb—that rugged old saint who never retired but “died climbing.”
David is a regular contributor to the daily devotional Our Daily Bread and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. In past years, David served on the pastoral staff of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, and as senior pastor of Cole Community Church in Boise, Idaho.
Endorsement
“David writes what he is and what he lives and he remains a mentor, teacher and example for so many here in Idaho and around the world!” Pastor Greg Reider, Idaho
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Title: Ambushed by Grace
Author: Shelly Beach
BISAC categories: Religion/Christian Life/Inspirational
Binding: Paperback
Page count: 208
Price: $10.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-242-5
Product Code: HB953
Practical Advice and Real Encouragement from the Caregiving Expert
Help & Hope on the Caregiving Journey
Shelly Beach cannot remember a time in her childhood when her parents were not caring for their sick parents. The memories of sharing a room with her grandmother and the fear of waking to find her dead beside her are still very vivid. This October, she co-led the Michigan ALS Association in Grand Rapids first caregivers’ conference with Cecil Murphy.
Shelly’s expertise comes not only from her parents’ experiences of caregiving, but also from the years she in turn took care of them, and before her parents, her father-in-law. Her deep understanding of the needs of caregivers is what led her to write two of her recent non-fiction releases: Ambushed by Grace: Help & Hope on the Caregiving Journey and Precious Lord, Take My Hand: Meditations for Caregivers. She knows this is not a task that should be undertaken alone. In Ambushed by Grace, Shelly includes appendices with practical resources: phone numbers, websites, local organizations, and other practical advice for caregivers.
Statistics (quoted on http://www.caregiver.org):
- Unpaid family caregivers will likely continue to be the largest source of long-term care services in the U.S. and are estimated to reach 37 million caregivers by 2050, an increase of 85% from 2000.
- More women than men are caregivers. An estimated 59% to 75% of caregivers are female.
- A number of studies have found that female caregivers are more likely than males to suffer from anxiety, depression, and other symptoms associated with emotional stress due to caregiving.
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Author Bio
Shelly Beach, a native of western Michigan, is a graduate of Oakland University (BA) and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary (MRE). Her 30-year career in communication includes high school English instruction, college writing instruction, and working in various roles as a writer, including political writing, editing, consulting, as well as speaking at conferences throughout the Midwest. She currently works with a fund development company in Michigan, writing marketing materials and coordinating development projects. She also teaches business writing classes at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her writing has been published in both secular and religious markets in a wide variety of genres, including poetry, short stories, feature articles, and interviews. Shelly’s contemporary novel, Hallie’s Heart (Kregel Publishers) was released in February of 2007 and explores the topics of guilt and forgiveness. Her book of meditations for caregivers, Precious Lord, Take My Hand (Discovery House) will be released in April 2007. An additional title on the topic of spiritual formation through caregiving will be released by Discovery House in January of 2008.
Shelly is the co-founder of the Cedar Falls Christian Writers’ Workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and is a member of the Christian Authors’ Network. Shelly and her husband Dan, a Christian school superintendent, reside in Sparta, Michigan, near Grand Rapids. For the past seven years, Shelly and Dan have provided in-home care for their parents.
Ambushed by Grace was written to provide spiritual, emotional, and practical help for caregivers in the daily challenges of life. It deals with many of the heart issues faced by caregivers—forgiveness, grace, boundary-setting—and offers practical advice, biblical wisdom, and insight from my caregiving journey. One of the most helpful aspects of this book is the extensive compilation of resources referenced in the appendices—websites, questionnaires, conversation starters, and a comprehensive checklist to help caregivers and their families begin compiling the critical information so necessary to informed and compassionate care as independence begins to wane.
Review
“[Ambushed by Grace] shows the raw side of caregiving, the ups, downs, and good, bad and the ugly , but [reminds you] that GOD brought you to it, he will see you [through] it. I just can not say enough about this book. This journey and this book should be shared be everyone.” Power Women Magazine
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Title: Above All, Love: Reflections on the Greatest Commandment
Author: Julie Ackerman Link
BISAC categories: Christian Life/Inspirational
Page count: 236
Price:$10.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-261-6
Product Code: RY993
What if 2009 is the year you could become as beautiful as God designed you to be? Would you want to know the secret?
Unveiling the mystery, Julie Ackerman Link reveals the key to be what the Jews call Shema and what Jesus titled the Greatest Commandment—to love the Lord with all your heart, your entire mind, and all your strength.
“Loving God,” says Link, “is not about creating something beautiful for Him; it’s about allowing Him to re-create in us the beauty He originally formed.” In a world obsessed with beauty and glamour, God offers to restore us to our unique beauty, to a satisfying life, to a relationship with Him.
But what does it really mean to love? It sounds easy. We are old enough to understand it isn’t Hollywood’s romanticized version, and the Bible makes clear it isn’t following a list of rules. Then what is it? How should it look?
“To be loved is one of the strongest of all desires,” Link points out. “The need for love is as much a part of God’s design for humans as the need for air, water, and food. We can’t lead a healthy life without it.”
Above All, Love is the culmination of Link’s years of research and wrestling with what it means to love God with your whole being. She begins by explaining that genuine love “seeks the highest good for someone other than self.” From there, she fits together the puzzle pieces revealing the picture of true love and the image of true beauty.
Author Bio
After earning a B.A. in English and an M.A. in journalism from Michigan State University, Julie Ackerman Link started her career at Zondervan, where she was responsible for acquiring and editing devotional and self-help books.
Link is the author of a number of books. She is the owner of Blue Water Ink, a writing, editing, designing, and typesetting company, through which she edits and compiles hundreds of books for publishers both large and small.
Link teaches writing and advises writers on the publishing process and is a regular contributor to the popular devotional Our Daily Bread.
Reviews
“This is a perfect small gift with a big message.” Ann Byle, The Grand Rapids Press
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Title: Made to Matter: Devotions for Working Christians
Author: Randy Kilgore
BISAC categories: Christian Living/Devotional
Page count: 144
Price: $10.95
ISBN: 978-1-57293-267-8
As the New Year begins as busy as last, wouldn’t you like to know you were making the most of the opportunities in your workplace? It is this idea that spurred Randy Kilgore, a former manager and current workplace chaplain, to begin the website Made to Matter, where he currently counsels and ministers to over 120,000 people from 124 countries who struggle to find value and fulfillment in their lives and work. Because of this response, Randy wrote a book, Made to Matter: Devotions for Working Christians. In it are real-life stories, like modern parables, used to illustrate for workers how it is possible to make their daily work and lives matter.
Several ideas for story angles:
1)Unemployment’s Spiritual Challenges: This article was the most widely read of all the articles Randy had listed (originally) on his website. He has three sidebars with additional information extremely helpful to pastors counseling people out of work, and coaching people through the spiritual challenges of unemployment. You can click here for more information.
2)The Reason We Exist: With all the focus on leadership and/or purpose, we sometimes forget we weren’t created to do, but to be in relationship with God. When we realize this, everything we do becomes an expression of that relationship.
3)Why Do You Work?: Work is not merely a means to an end or a place to put in time or raise funds. Our workplace can be holy ground.
4)A Work/Faith Journey: Randy suggests spiritual mile markers we can point to in our journey that remind us of our progress in our work and in our faith journey.
5)Talking About God at Work: Randy recommend ten things all Christians should consider before they share their faith at work.
6)Who Is My Neighbor?: We all judge people by how they look, but, more often than not, we judge wrong.
7)The Source for our Significance: Only when we are willing to be insignificant will we discover our true significance.
Author Bio
Randy Kilgore (M. Div.) is senior writer at Desired Haven Ministries, flagship ministry for a network that includes TenMinute Christian and Made to Matter. His Internet devotional, Made to Matter, reaches 120,000 readers in more than 124 countries.
Reviews
“The writing is engaging. The message is powerful. And the applications are timeless.” Red Letter Believers
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Title: The Quotable Oswald Chambers
Author: Oswald Chambers, compiled and edited by David McCasland
ECPA categories: Biblical Reference / Quotations
Binding: 6 x 9 hardcover with CD-ROM
Page count: 512 / Price: ($19.95 direct)
ISBN: 978-1-57293-194-7
Product Code: BW382
This comprehensive collection, edited and compiled by Chambers biographer, David McCasland, reveals the wisdom, but also the wit of Oswald Chambers that is not often seen. Chambers views on war, marriage, patience, suffering, and health are easily found alphabetized by category or searchable on the CD-ROM (included in the back of the book). This is a valuable resource for speakers, teachers, writers, and all who love the writings of Oswald Chambers.
Author Bio
David McCasland is the foremost authority on the works of Oswald Chambers. He is the author of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, which won the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion award for biography, and is the compiler and editor of The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers.
McCasland also wrote the biography of Eric Liddell (Pure Gold). He is a regular contributer to the daily devotional Our Daily Bread, with special appearances on television’s Day of Discovery.
Excerpts
“If thinking gives you a headache, it is a sign that you have brains.”
The Moral Foundations of Life, 696 R
“If a worldling is not a worldling at heart, he is miserable; and if a Christian is not a Christian at heart, he carries his Christianity like a headache instead of something worth having, and not being able to get rid of his head, he cannot get rid of his headache.”
Biblical Ethics, 98 R
“Drink deep and full of the love of God and you will not demand the impossible from earth’s loves, and the love of wife and child, of husband and friend, will grow holier and healthier and simpler and grander.”
The Love of God, 657 L
“Ask the Holy Spirit to enable your mind to brood for one moment on the value of the “nobody” to Jesus. The people who make up the common crowd are nobodies to me, but it is astonishing to find that it is the nobodies that Jesus Christ came to save. The terms we use for men in the sense of their social position are nothing to Him.”
Conformed to His Image, 366 R
“We must take heed that in the present calamities, when war and devastation and heart-break are abroad in the world, we do not shut ourselves up in a world of our own and ignore the demand made on us by our Lord and our fellow-men for the service of intercessory prayer and hospitality and care.”
Christian Disciplines, Volume 1, The Discipline of Peril, 293 L
“Always remember that Jesus Christ’s statements force an issue of will and conscience first, and only as we obey is there the understanding with the mind (see John 7:17).”
Biblical Ethics, 101 L
