Trust the God Who Allows This? The last thing you want to do when crushed with indescribable pain and suffering is turn to the very God who allows it all to happen. What right does He have, especially now, to ask for your loyalty, your obedience, your love? When cancer took his wife and left him despairing alone, James Means unwillingly had to ask God the same questions facing you. A Tearful Celebration is the candid, pull-no-punches account of his struggle to understand God’s ways and to stand firm in the face of incalculable loss. This new edition of a 1986 Gold Medallion finalist will lead you to the place you most truly long to be: right with God and secure in Him again. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." —Psalm 34:18 To all who long for the steadfast, quiet confidence of godly men and women who rise triumphant out of the cruel calamities of life… The experience of life is very good—and very bad. Beauty is side-by-side with ugliness. I cannot now soar with wings like the eagle. It is a treacherous road, painful to my feet, but He makes my heart burn within me. We must rejoice not merely because it is commanded, but because faith necessitates it and grace promotes it. The God of adversities provokes tearful celebration. …take heart and find hope. These pages will guide you in your search for faith and meaning. You will not be disappointed. “James Means’s honesty and his sensitivity to God is a combination that makes this book a source of comfort and strength to those caught in the grip of grief. The ability with which he shares his sorrow with us is extraordinary.” —The Pentecostal Minister “A great deal of refreshing honesty for a grieving heart.” —Lyla Mattozza, New Beginnings Bereavement Support “This testimony of God’s grace is most impressive.” —The Baptist Standard “A Tearful Celebration is an honest and thought-provoking account of what the author’s difficult journey has taught him about himself, his grieving, and God’s sufficiency.” —Caregiver Quarterly Story Behind the Book Ugliness comes in a great variety of forms, but few are more confusing and horrific than the drawn-out death by cancer of a precious loved one. Such was the experience that caused James Means to come face-to-face with the harsh reality that God failed to respond as he had asked and expected Him to. Means grapples with the mysteries of God and finds meaning in catastrophe. This book contains no glib platitudes and no shallow apologetic for the bitter realism of suffering. There is, however, the powerful testimony to God’s sovereignty, grace, and ultimate goodness. There is also a revelation of the biblical brand of faith that stands rock-solid in the most distressing of human experience.

"...If you are a mourner, suffering through what C.S. Lewis calls 'necessary tortures,' you'll know a kindred spirit with this author who said in his grief, 'God and I are alone here and great business is taking place.' And if you aren't now one who mourns--if death has never stepped near--you'll find welcome preparation for keeping your eyes on God whenever the lonely journey comes." [from back cover summary].

'" As fall draws to a close, the looming Cultural Festival already has everyone descending into stress and squabbling when a new threat looms--a sudden appearance from Taiga''s father! Can Ryuuji help the volatile Palmtop Tiger deal with her deadbeat dad, or will this new tension split them even further apart? And what happens if reconciling Taiga with her dad means losing her as a neighbor? "'

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Ps. 91:1) There is only one miracle cure for Casey Cardell, a space shuttle test-pilot left alone with his crippled toddler son after the deaths of his precious wife and infant daughter. But miracle cures take time and time is running out. NASA needs a test-pilot; Vanguard, the newest top-secret space shuttle is nuclear powered, lifts like a jet aircraft and travels at velocities unheard of. If it can get off the ground. Someone is trying to destroy the spacecraft and everyone involved with it. But pressures without, turmoil within, spiritual attacks and human frailty are no match for an all-knowing, all-powerful God. He brings beauty from the ashes, love from pain, testimony from defeat and success from sabotage in His time. But miracle cures take time. And time is running out...

In Now I Lay Me Down Alone, a pastor shares personal anecdotes and the stories of others to illustrate how spirituality and faith can help in dealing with death and the subsequent journey through grief. While focusing primarily on spousal loss, Lee relies on over forty years of experience in pastoral ministry as he shares godly answers to the difficult questions that arise when an earthly life closes. In the role of pastor, he has stood over the casket nearly one hundred times, witnessing the pain of those left behind, drawing upon all he knows about the promises of God and His book of hope in order to provide comfort. While providing how-to directives, poetry, lyrics, and quotes from religious leaders and others, Lee shares the stories of everyday people who have walked directly into the agony of losing someone close and come out on the other side knowing that God has walked beside them every step of the way. Now I Lay Me Down Alone leads anyone traveling through a journey of grief to realize that comfort, understanding, and friendship come from not only those who surround you on earth, but also from up above.

Be a fly on the wall of sound: get the inside history and behind-the-scenes events in the making of a masterpiece. In this refreshing book – which focuses solely on Amy Winehouse's musical artistry, stylistic influences, and creative collaborations with great producers and musicians, instead of her personal problems – Donald Brackett explores pertinent questions about the importance of pop music in contemporary culture. In this incisive and fascinating study of Amy Winehouse's second, and last, album (released in 2006), Back to Black, he opens the door not only to the full experience of this great record but also explores the seductive sonic hook that pop artists always strive for and unearths what makes the record unique, influential, and unforgettable. He reveals the creative steps in its inception and production, the technical virtuosity that makes it special, and why it deserves to be considered a pop classic. In an album that continually strips down the branches of popular music to draw from its muscular trunk, Amy Winehouse (with significant help from producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi) used the deep longing of '60s girl-group pop, such as the Ronettes, to fuel the torch sound she perfected in her debut. Brackett fully considers Winehouse's legacy ten years after her multi-Grammy winning album – exploring the origins of a global cultural phenomenon by examining her roots as a storyteller; studying her swift arrival as a demonic pop diva; the crucially important creative role played by her gifted producers in the studio; the historical musical influences on her style; the soul magic of her superb backup band, the Dap-Kings; her live performance style onstage; and her magnetic public image as a video star. Back to Black is also explored song by song in an appreciation of its status as a true pop-art artifact. In the end, it's the songs that make up Back to Black which go far beyond our potentially prurient fascination with the unique singer's early demise five years ago and instead bring vibrantly to life the surprising pop majesty she personified.

Who speaks for China? Is it the old men of the politburo or activists like Wei Jingshsheng, who spent eighteen years in prison for writing a emocratic manifesto? Is China's future to be fund amid the boisterous sleaze of an electoral cmpaign in Taiwan, or in the manoeuvres by which ordinary residents of Beijing quietly resist the authority of the state? These are among the questions that Ian Buruma poses in this enlightening and often moving tour of Chinese dissidence. Travelling through the U.S., Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the People's Republic, Ian Buruma tells the stories of Chinese rebels who dare to stand up to their rulers, exploring their chances of success in the face of the most powerful dictatorship on earth. From the exiles of Tiananmen to the hidden Christians of rural China, he brings alive the human dimension to their struggles and reveals the world's most secretive superpower through the eyes of its dissidents.

A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, arguably the most famous of all Middle English literature. As a series of twenty-four stories, The Canterbury Tales was written in 1392 and tells of the pilgrimage of thirty people from various social classes to Canterbury. Moreover, Chaucer uses each story to represent a theme in order to exemplify the changing of societal roles. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Chaucer’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons it has stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains: - Introductions to the Author and the Work - Character Summaries - Plot Guides - Section and Chapter Overviews - Test Essay and Study Q&As The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.

Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS) is not the 'Yuppie flu.' It is a debilitating, incurable illness that hijacks the body's immune system and drains the life out of its victims, often leaving them incapacitated for years. While researchers around the globe explore the causes of treatments for CFIDS, the men, women and children who suffer with the illness grapple with questions like: -Will I ever be normal again? -Of what value am I now that I can't work or go to school anymore? -How will CFIDS affect my marriage and my family? How will CFIDS affect my ability even to consider marriage or having children? -How do I glorify God in the midst of a debilitating illness and pain? Lynn Vanderzalm and her teenage daughter, Alisa, have battled CFIDS for over seven years. In Finding Strength in Weakness, Vanderzalm shares her family's struggles and questions-along with those of 70 other men, women, and children-while offering direction, encouragement, and hope to the countless families who battle with the 'mystery illness of the nineties.'