Although I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at a young age, I did not understand what my salvation meant. I did not understand the fruitfulness of my relationship with Christ. I thought that being a Christian was going to Church when I felt like it and praying to God whenever I needed something. Through many trials in life, God continued to pursue me and revealed himself. For many years, my heart was hardened because most Christians I met were either judgmental, envious, or hypocrites. Many of them could not explain the questions I had about the scriptures. I concluded that many Christians were using the Church and God to benefit themselves. During the trials, God planted seasoned Christians to encourage me to give Christianity another chance. It was not until I faced many challenges with my career that I understood my purpose and appreciated the importance of having a relationship with Jesus. "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

We must all weather the winds of adversity. God warns His children that they will have trouble and hardships in life (Jn. 16:33 NIV). The fruit birthed out of personal trials enable us to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have been given through Christ. Facing Trials: Thoughts For Meditation is a devotional full of hope, encouragement, and instruction. There are two thought provoking devotions for each of the twenty selected topics. Every meditation has a scriptural foundation with plenty of ideas for personal contemplation and reflection. Cheryl Zelenka knows what it is to walk through the "Valley of the Shadow of Death," and live to ascend the mountaintop of God. Her undiagnosed brain tumor caused clinical depression for nearly ten years. Ms. Zelenka challenges each believer to change their negative view of trials and consider them as blessings. It is through trials that we deepen our relationship and dependence on God. No journey in life is without seasons of tears and sorrow, but the "Son" shines in the valley as well as in the desert and mountaintop. With each new trial we experience, our personal Tree of Life buds, flowers, and bears fruit.

In a world fraught with challenges and uncertainty, faith remains our most enduring beacon of hope. "Let God Use You to Solve Your Problems: God Will Instruct You and Teach You in the Way You Should Go" offers a unique exploration of how a steadfast reliance on God's wisdom, coupled with an active role in our own spiritual development, can serve as a roadmap to navigating life's complexities. This book provides an enlightening journey into a deeper understanding of God's role in our lives, not as a miracle worker performing supernatural acts on demand, but as a divine guide illuminating our path through the teachings of Scripture and personal experiences. It shows how, by letting go and trusting in God, we can find the strength, courage, and wisdom to confront and overcome our problems. The author, a conservative Bible scholar, encourages readers to actively engage with their faith, teaching how God instructs us through His Word, life experiences, and our own spiritual growth. Throughout the chapters, readers will learn the art of biblical discernment, nurturing spiritual growth, embracing patience in God's timing, and turning trials into triumphs through God's guidance. This book ultimately underscores the importance of personal responsibility in a faithful Christian life. It provides a nuanced and balanced understanding of faith that inspires action and involvement in our communities, allowing us to serve God and others while becoming reflections of God's love. “Let God Use You to Solve Your Problems” is more than a book; it's a spiritual guide for those seeking to blend trust in divine wisdom with personal initiative, creating a life that is not just endured but lived fully and meaningfully in God's light.

Life is a journey of living and dying, of new birth, and of burying the dead. Living is a gift from above because we cannot add to its value even though we can subtract from it. Death on the other hand is a loss of life as we know it, and we can never take back from it. What I knew as my life is no longer there; in its stead, a new person emerged. The purpose that I thought was for my life no longer exists, and through my divorce, a cocoon has been broken, and the caterpillar became a butterfly.

Academic Autoethnographies: Inside Teaching in Higher Education invites readers to experience autoethnography as a challenging, complex, and creative research methodology that can produce personally, professionally, and socially useful understandings of teaching and researching in higher education. The peer-reviewed chapters offer innovative and perspicacious explorations of interrelationships between personal autobiographies, lived educational experiences, and wider social and cultural concerns, across diverse disciplines and university contexts. This edited book is distinctive within the existing body of autoethnographic scholarship in that the original research presented has been done in relation to predominantly South African university settings. This research is complemented by contributions from Canadian and Swedish scholars. The sociocultural, educational, and methodological insights communicated in this book will be valuable for specialists in the field of higher education and to those in other academic domains who are interested in self-reflexive, transformative, and creative research methodologies and methods. “This book illuminates how autoethnography can engage authors and researchers from varied epistemological backgrounds in a reflexive multilogue about who they are and what they do. The creative representations of the lived experience of doing autoethnography sets the book apart both methodologically and theoretically, revealing how rigor and critical distance can serve to position autoethnography not only as a personal self-development tool but a tradition and method in its own right.” – Hyleen Mariaye, Associate Professor, Mauritius Institute of Education, Mauritius “This compelling book foregrounds autoethnography as an innovative and creative research methodology to generate reflexive sociological understandings of teaching and researching across disciplines in higher education. Rich, evocative and authentic accounts reveal unique possibilities for the transformation of teaching, learning and research at personal, professional and socio-cultural levels.” – Nithi Muthukrishna, Professor Emerita, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

We live in a world in which there is great confusion about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to have genuine faith. Faith is more than belief, and being a Christian is more than attending a church service, a Bible study, or helping out the poor and needy. True faith, genuine faith in Christ, is not something that we need to convince people that we possess. Instead, true faith is seen through who we are and what we do. More Than Words is a book about faith. It is not so much a book about what faith is but instead what true faith looks like. More Than Words is a practical study of the book of James and provides understanding to what a life truly surrendered to Christ looks like and how it is to be lived. More Than Words will encourage and challenge you to examine your hearts and life to see if the faith you claim to have is truly a biblical faith.

LYRIC GIBSON FELT LIKE A VERY UNWELCOME GUEST When she’d agreed to accompany her aunt Fay to Seven Devils Ranch, Lyric hoped that the invitation was at the request of Trevor Dalton—a man who had stirred her desire from the moment she’d laid eyes upon him. But from the instant she arrived in Idaho, the independent Texan knew her hunch had been utterly wrong. Trevor would hardly acknowledge her existence! Lyric had always mesmerized Trevor, but shehad pushed him away before…for a fiancé that he hadn’t even known existed. Could Lyric make him understand the truth behind her deceit—and unleash the passion and love that burned in them both?

This practitioner-based book provides different approaches for reaching an increasing population in today’s schools - English language learners (ELLs). The recent development and adoption of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS-ELA/Literacy), the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, the C3 Framework, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) highlight the role that teachers have in developing discipline-specific competencies. This requires new and innovative approaches for teaching the content areas to all students. The book begins with an introduction that contextualizes the chapters in which the editors highlight transdisciplinary theories and approaches that cut across content areas. In addition, the editors include a table that provides a matrix of how strategies and theories map across the chapters. The four sections of the book represent the following content areas: English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. This book offers practical guidance that is grounded in relevant theory and research and offers teachers suggestions on how to use the approaches described.

Revised and updated, the Lucado Life Lessons series continues to be one of the best-selling study guide series on the market today. For small group to individual use, intriguing questions and new material take the participant deeper into God's Word.