How can the church honor a person's profound experience of struggle, change or celebration? How can corporate worship link to the unique and real-life needs of the people in the pews? God wants us to be whole. One of the purposes of the church is to encourage that. However, in seeking to provide something for everyone, corporate worship traditions may have lost a personal touch that members need. Perhaps your most dedicated parishioner, for whatever reason, looks outside the congregation for ...

Do you struggle to relate the Bible to your daily life? Jane Herring wrestled with the contradictions, puzzling stories, and difficult sayings in scripture—until she discovered the power of interacting with them. Herring guides you to talk back to those scripture passages you don't understand. Ask questions, explore your life, plead, praise, and ponder. She provides simple, practical tools for beginning and experienced writers. A perfect resource for individuals, small groups, and retreats. L...

Praise for Sacred Days Tom Steagald knows how to write, which is to say he knows how to use his own true voice instead of one he has borrowed for the occasion. He also knows how to read, finding in the Gospels not just the same old stories we have heard all our lives but glimpses of the astonishing treasure to be found in those stories if we have our hearts open as well as our eyes." —Frederick Buechner, author "Christ takes time and thereby redeems time. This is the testimony of the church....

NOTE: Prayer beads are sold separately. Purchase online at www.prayerworksstudio.etsy.com. Yes, it's really okay for Protestants to use prayer beads! Kristen and Max Vincent invite you to pray from your heart with these 28 devotions designed for use with prayer beads. Another Bead, Another Prayer begins with a brief explanation of Protestant prayer beads for readers who are unfamiliar with them. The devotions are grouped by 4 types of prayer: praise, confession, intercession, and thanksgiving...

In the harried, expect-the-unexpected flow of everyday life, faith seems far away for many people. Your car breaks down. The bills are due. The kids need school supplies. The business report remains unwritten. In A Wakeful Faith, Jenkins asserts that living awake to God in all of our daily affairs is the answer. Only when we become consciously aware of God's gracious activity in the details of the day can we transform and find purpose in our lives today. "Each day brings a flood of demands fo...

In Rhythms of Growth, Linda Douty uses the seasons of the year to illustrate natural trends in our spiritual lives. For winter, she writes about themes of rootedness, fallow times, reflection; for spring—awakening, planting, new growth, storms; for summer—bearing fruit, abundance, blossoming, weeding, and pests; for fall—letting go, sifting, harvesting. Douty's conversational style and ability to bring together the everyday and the holy make this book appealing for anyone who wants a devotion...