The freshman year marks a teenagers first time for every high school experience: first day, first football game, first pop quiz, and even some of the first major temptations. Its also a year filled with some really important questions: How can I make wise choices? How can I create good habits? How can I make faith a priority, not just another thing in my life? Lars Rood is your students guide for this adventure. Hes a pastor, an author, and the dad of three children who arent too far away from beginning their own high school journeys. Hes also a former high school teacher, so hes had plenty of conversations with freshmen facing exactly what your teenagers are about to face. Each entry in this devotional will help students walk through an important moment, issue, challenge, or opportunity that defines the freshman year. Lars will also offer ideas on living out what teenagers believe. In other words, this isnt just a book students readits a book that leads to action.

Stories about athletes and coaches usually focus on their championships or their scandals. All the Good in Sports features 20 contemporary sports personalities who go beyond the headlines to candidly share how their relationship with Christ has helped them cope with a variety of difficulties, both professional and personal, and how in Christ they found victory in their personal lives. Many professing Christians in the sports world have achieved wealth and notoriety, but life’s luxuries do not exempt them from life’s difficulties. Name recognition and personal fortune cannot rescue one whose marriage is on the rocks, one facing substance abuse, or one facing disease or even death. The sports heroes featured in All the Good in Sports are not super human. They go through the same pendulum of emotions you and I do when life deals us a punch in the stomach. However, what they discover—or rediscover—is a God who is faithful and responsive in their time of need.

True Faith and Allegiance is the highly-anticipated personal history from Alberto R. Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States and former Counsel to the President—the only lawyer and only Hispanic to hold both these positions—an ultimate insider in the most tumultuous events in recent history. Born to a poor but proud working-class family in Humble, Texas, Gonzales was raised along with his seven siblings in a modest 2-bedroom home. His loving and devout parents taught him the conservative values of hard work and accountability that motivated Gonzales to the highest echelons of power. He was a confidante to President George W. Bush during the crucible of the 9/11 attacks, and he played a vital role in the administration’s immediate response to protect America and the far-reaching steps to prevent further harm.

“An inspiring, intimate memoir about faith, resilience and the tenacity of love.”—People “In this emotional tale, a young couple see their lives changed in the blink of an eye—and learn to find love again.”—US Weekly Five months pregnant, on a flight to their “babymoon,” Allison Pataki turned to her husband when he asked if his eye looked strange and watched him suddenly lose consciousness. After an emergency landing, she discovered that Dave—a healthy thirty-year-old athlete and surgical resident—had suffered a rare and life-threatening stroke. Next thing Allison knew, she was sitting alone in the ER in Fargo, North Dakota, waiting to hear if her husband would survive the night. When Dave woke up, he could not carry memories from hour to hour, much less from one day to the next. Allison had lost the Dave she knew and loved when he lost consciousness on the plane. Within a few months, she found herself caring for both a newborn and a sick husband, struggling with the fear of what was to come. As a way to make sense of the pain and chaos of their new reality, Allison started to write daily letters to Dave. Not only would she work to make sense of the unfathomable experiences unfolding around her, but her letters would provide Dave with the memories he could not make on his own. She was writing to preserve their past, protect their present, and fight for their future. Those letters became the foundation of this beautiful, intimate memoir. And in the process, she fell in love with her husband all over again. This is a manifesto for living, an ultimately uplifting story about the transformative power of faith and resilience. It’s a tale of a man’s turbulent road to recovery, the shifting nature of marriage, and the struggle of loving through pain and finding joy in the broken places. Praise for Beauty in the Broken Places “Bold and commendable . . . A strength of this memoir is [Allison Pataki’s] scrupulous honesty.”—USA Today “A memoir about . . . determination and gratitude, and the value of putting one foot in front of another during a crisis.”—The Washington Post “Heart-wrenching.”—Women’s Health “Powerful and immersive . . . Pataki delivers an insightful look at how two people faced a life-altering test as a team ‘fighting to make the dreams of our future possible.’”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Hanna Seymour, a mentor to thousands of young college women, provides a plan for success in college based on experience, illustrations, and biblical principles. Each year millions of young women enter the college scene and are surprised to find their glittering preconceptions shattered. College isn't exactly what they had imagined -- it's a lot tougher. Social challenges, a demanding schedule, pressure to succeed, shifting family dynamics: how do girls tackle these issues, learn to thrive, and really enjoy this new phase of life? The Girl's Survival Guide is packed with experienced-based advice that can help. Written by a mentor with ten years of experience helping college girls succeed, it's like having a big sister along for the journey. With proven tips, scripture, and inspiring illustrations, this book will coach, comfort, and inspire young women so that they can make the most of the college experience. Thousands of young women have asked Hanna Seymour what to do about roommate drama, boyfriend trouble, choosing a major, balancing family and school life, and so much more. She's poured her best insights into this book -- answering the top 52 questions she has received -- so that readers everywhere will be armed with the knowledge and inspiration to make college the most epic, enriching time it can be.

"An award-winning videogame writer offers a rare behind-the-scenes look inside the gaming industry, and expands on how games are transformed from mere toys into meaningful, artistic experiences"--

Good Dream Gone Bad is a story about a well-off family living in Dallas that has it all in the beginning: love, peace, happiness and wealth. That is, until the unexpected begins to happen. Travis Larson is a devoted husband and father who goes out of his way to make sure his family has everything they need to be happy. His beautiful wife Millicent, despite chaotic and unthinkable episodes surrounding family members does her best to keep the family together by all means. Tracee and Miles are their two kids destined for college until they make bad decisions.