A hopeful single mom moves to the Houston suburbs to start anew, only to find a new adversary in the HOA. Amelia Marsh relocates with her two young kids to a northern suburb of Houston after a brutal divorce. All she wants is a bit of normalcy for her children. The last thing she needs is to be the center of a disagreement with the HOA representative. Believe it or not, her children's garden gnome is accused of violating the association's rules. No way is Amelia backing down on this one. Gnomegate? Really? HOA President Kyle Sanders would be a good friend—or even something more—if Amelia wasn't gearing up for battle with the HOA in her determination to make her house a home and her neighborhood a community... "An excellent read and a surefire hit for those looking to beat the heat this summer." —Library Journal

"The most promising and original writer of fantasy to come along since Robin McKinley."—Peter S. Beagle, best-selling author of The Last Unicorm Damiana is safe-keeper in the small village of Tambleham. Neighbors and strangers alike come one by one, in secret, to tell her things they dare not share with anyone else, knowing that Damiana will keep then to herself. One late night, a mysterious visitor from the city arrives with an unusual secret for the Safe-Keeper—a newborn baby. Damiana, who is expecting her own child, agrees to take the foundling. She names him Reed and raises him side by side with her daughter, Fiona. Ad the years pass and the two children grow into teenagers, they must come to terms with who they are—and who they may be.

Before the discovery of oil in the late 1960s, Oman was one of the poorest countries in the world, with only six kilometers of paved roads and one hospital. By the late 1970s, all that had changed as Oman used its new oil wealth to build a modern infrastructure. In the Time of Oil describes how people in Bahla, an oasis town in the interior of Oman, experienced this dramatic transformation following the discovery of oil, and how they now grapple with the prospect of this resource's future depletion. Focusing on shifting structures of governance and new forms of sociality as well as on the changes brought by mass schooling, piped water, and the fracturing of close ties with East Africa, Mandana Limbert shows how personal memories and local histories produce divergent notions about proper social conduct, piety, and gendered religiosity. With close attention to the subtleties of everyday life and the details of archival documents, poetry, and local histories, Limbert provides a rich historical ethnography of oil development, piety, and social life on the Arabian Peninsula.

Oscar, physically and sexually abusive, stabbed his partner and two stepdaughters to death, buried the bodies, and fled the state with his two younger children. Paul, a respected investment banker, donned a Halloween mask and shot his wife and two children before turning the gun on himself. What drives individuals as different as Oscar and Paul to kill their families? Why does familicide appear to be on the rise? In Familicidal Hearts, award-winning author and sociologist Neil Websdale uncovers the stories behind 196 male and 15 female perpetrators of this shocking offense, situating their emotional styles on a continuum, from the livid coercive to the civil reputable. With highly detailed and riveting case studies, Websdale explores the pivotal roles of shame, rage, fear, anxiety, and depression in the lives and crimes of the killers. His analysis demonstrates how internal emotional conflict, against a backdrop of societal pressures, is at the root of familicide, challenging the widely accepted argument that murderers kill family members to assert power and control. Websdale contends instead that most perpetrators struggle with intense shame, many sensing that they failed to live up to the demands of modern gender prescriptions, as fathers and lovers, wives and mothers. What emerges is a compelling theory about the haunting effects of modern emotional struggles on perpetrators, controlling and upstanding alike. Captivatingly written and expertly researched, this provocative book weaves a gripping tale of modern-era "haunted hearts." Blending the social, the historical, and the emotional into a new way of making sense of a horrific crime, Familicidal Hearts is a provocative meditation on gender roles, social forces, and modern life itself.

The apartment building where I grew up had peeling paint and unkempt trees and bushes. Perhaps the twenty families living in nineteen apartments didnt even notice that it was not only the walls of the building that were chipping away little by little simply because they were glad that they had a roof above their heads. As I was growing up, each family represented its own soap opera to me. As a child, I became fascinated and, as a teenager, was appalled by the people, the tenants, who lived there and the hypocrisy that surrounded my family and me in our everyday life. One could only imagine how deeply they came to be part of my life with good but, most of the time, bad intentions. After all these years, those memories are as fresh as a harvested bouquet of flowers that still had the morning dew on its buds. I had to write about them; I needed to write about them. Why? Because I owe them a great deal. For what? you may ask. The answer lies in the stories that took place at 78 Spring Street: Tavasz Utca 78.

In a world increasingly divided by politics and social issues, we need Mister Rogers more than ever. For three decades, his presence was a healing balm to children of all ages. And though he is no longer with us, we can all adopt his attitudes and actions as models for our own lives. In this uplifting and informative book, Dr. Anita Knight Kuhnley shows us how to use the transformative psychological principles that Mister Rogers masterfully employed to make a difference in our own neighborhoods. Principles such as - listening for discovery - validating feelings - preserving white space - expressing gratitude - exercising empathy - practicing radical acceptance - using expressions of care Imagine a world where these seven principles guide our interactions with each other. Sound heavenly? Neighborly? It all starts with you.

Endorsements: "Karl Barth and Hans Frei are close to the center of contemporary hermeneutical debate. David Demson's illuminating study offers an authoritative account of their respective ways of reading Scripture, arguing that, for all its fruitfulness, Frei's work lacks a theology of inspiration such as Barth provides. Scrupulous and nuanced in its handling of the texts, this book is a perceptive contribution to the literature of both Frei and Barth. It is also a place to begin exploring key theological issues concerning biblical interpretation, theory of interpretation, and Christology." --John Webster, Oxford University "The whole of Christian discourse is contained in the tiny, glittering questions that Demson so marvelously brings to light. His work is the work of a hermeneutical master in the service of other hermeneutical masters--Hans Frei and Karl Barth. The result is a brilliant restatement of Frei on 'the identity of Jesus Christ'--amplified and qualified by astute attention to Barth. An outstanding contribution to the ecclesial reading of Holy Scripture." --George Hunsinger, Center of Theological Inquiry "Taking a narrow focus--a single difference in the interpretation of Scripture by two twentieth-century theologians--Demson has succeeded in opening up a wide theme. Here is a fascinating account of how the reading of the Bible remains a living challenge for contemporary Christians." --Kenneth Hamilton, University of Winnipeg "A careful description and able comparison of two significant theologians' expositions of the Gospel accounts of Jesus' ministry, passion, and resurrection. Demson, who is impartial but not neutral in his stance, provides helpful synthetic insight into how Barth and Frei each treat a broad theological theme and, at the same time, gives readers constructive proposals for explicating New Testament texts. This book is a welcome contribution to all for whom attending to the Bible and doing theology are inseparable." --H. Martin Ruscheidt, Atlantic School of Theology Author Biography: David E. Demson is professor of systematic theology at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Karl Barth Society of North America.

Ke Garne, a common Nepali phrase which literally means, "What to do?" embodies the thinking of millions of people living in the Himalayas steeped in the belief that their karma has destined them to poverty and hopelessness. In 1991 an enthusiastic young couple, a medical doctor and an ecologist, left their jobs and sold everything to take the good news of Christ to a remote area of the Himalayas closed to traditional missions. God led them to establish and lead an organization, Health Environmental and Learning Program (H.E.L.P.), which has combined the principles of the Bible and wholistic sustainable development, following the model of Jesus's ministry. "Ke garne is the fruit from decades of boots-on-the-ground, sacrificial devotion ...Want to be guided and inspired by exemplary, real-life Christian community development? It is here in your hands." Nicholas Comninellis, MD MPH DIM and PH, Pres. & CEO, Institute for International Medicine "The Ackermans are the proof that the Holy Spirit still anoints and empowers those He chooses to spread Christ's Gospel in the most effective ways in the places most needed. If allowed, God has no limits." Lamar McNew, MD, Retired Professor, Texas A and M College of Medicine, Chairman of H.E.L.P. board. "As I read these pages and re-heard their story, precious memories of trusting the Lord for direction and provisions flooded my soul. Meet this special family, and be challenged by their obedience to the Great Commission." Dr. Don Higginbotham, Retired Pastor "This is a book that 21st Century Christians must read! In an age of "toxic charity" and misdirected mission efforts, this is a book that issues a call for mission work that starts on the inside and moves outward. I've personally seen this ministry in action in Nepal, and without a doubt, the church needs to embrace this model!" Reverend Jerry House, Pastor