“One of the very important messages of the Bible is hope. Actually, this spiritual reality that keeps people’s lives on the right path is found in the pages of the Bible more often than we think. This spiritual reality is what leads us to a positive inner strength and a proper faith-filled attitude toward our circumstances.”

During the last two decades there has been a renaissance in the field of Christian philosophy. Unfortunately, most of this excellent work has not reached general readers. Reason for the Hope Within was produced specifically to make available the best of contemporary Christian philosophy in a clear, accessible -- and highly relevant -- manner. Fourteen of America's rising Christian philosophers here cover many of the traditional themes of Christian apologetics (arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the possibility of miracles) as well as topics of special relevance to today's world (Eastern religions, Christianity and science, Christianity and ethics, the existence of heaven and hell).

An inspiring anthology for anyone seeking guidance, hope, and strength in the midst of our current environmental crisis—featuring writings from Barbara Kingsolver and Barry Lopez The environmental “tipping point” we approach is more palpable each day, and people are seeing it in ways they can no longer ignore—we need only turn on the news to hear the litany of what is wrong around us. Serious reflection, inspiration, and direction on how to approach the future are now critical. Hope Beneath Our Feet creates a space for change with stories, meditations, and essays that address the question, “If our world is facing an imminent environmental catastrophe, how do I live my life right now?” This collection provides tools, both practical and spiritual, to those who care about our world and to those who are just now realizing they need to care. Featuring prominent environmentalists, artists, CEOs, grassroots activists, religious figures, scientists, policy makers, and indigenous leaders, Hope Beneath Our Feet shows readers how to find constructive ways to channel their energies and fight despair with engagement and participation. Presenting diverse strategies for change as well as grounds for hope, the contributors to this anthology celebrate the ways in which we can all engage in beneficial action for ourselves, our communities, and the world. Contributors include: Diane Ackerman Paul Hawken Derrick Jensen Barbara Kingsolver Francis Moore Lappé Barry Lopez Bill McKibben Michael Pollan Alice Walker Howard Zinn

Mary Gonzales strolls the streets of Chicago's meatpacking district every evening, keeping a watchful eye over "her" neighborhood kids. Tony Ortiz encourages young men in California state prisons to break free of the brutal gang life he once knew all too well. Joe Hynes, Brooklyn's district attorney, champions women and children, not wanting them to suffer as he suffered. They, and the twenty-one other amazing people interviewed by Jack Calhoun, are reshaping lives and communities across America. They include Christians of every denomination, Muslims, Jews, and others, some who pray five times a day and some who are, frankly, "not that religious." But each tells Calhoun, there's much more to the story. You may have heard of some of these Americans. Several are in the news. The good words of all shine brightly in their communities. What you haven't heard about is the underlying force, the hidden source of their seemingly endless energy and selflessness. It is faith -- a deep and, in some cases, unsuspected spirituality. They have the unshakable sense that they work not only for their organizations -- and each individual they encounter -- but especially for God. Calhoun was once an eager divinity school student, hungry to make a difference. Through the years he rose to national prominence in the field of public policy, spending twenty-plus years as the founding president of the National Crime Prevention Council. However, something wasn't right. Caught up in a parade of committee meetings, speaking engagements, and policy and program initiatives, he had lost touch with the bedrock of his vocation. It took an encounter with an unusually clear-sighted volunteer to reconnect his daily work to his faith in God. Reinvigorated, Calhoun embarked on a two-year cross-country quest to find out how faith motivates some of America's hardest-working public servants. They pursue a range of innovative and ambitious plans to help their communities, and their accomplishments are impressive. But just try telling them so. They have been chosen, they'll explain, to fulfill a larger purpose. Their paths have been rocky, their burdens heavy, and the work hasn't always been fun. Yet they feel blessed, emboldened by their trust in a higher power to live lives of acceptance and unbounded love. Some recent books have laid divisiveness and hostility at faith's door. "Hope Matters" brings to light the togetherness and reconciliation that faith truly engender when good people heed its call to action. You won't hear Mary, Tony, Joe or the rest preaching from the pulpit, or even in the streets. They have no sermon or script to follow. There is a ministry of open arms and second chances, of waking up each morning with new challenges and going to bed each night with renewed faith. Their stories just might inspire you to make your own "place of worship" a little bigger.

In 30 Days of Hope for Dealing with Depression, author and fellow depression sufferer Brenda Poinsett offers a glimmer of hope. Her transparent and raw personal stories reveal that you are not alone in your struggle to deal with depression. God is holding out hope for you to grasp. Whether depression is a lifelong battle or a season of attack, this personal testimony filled with Scripture and biblical insight will have you relying on God—the one who can help you overcome.

The lives of two women changed by domestic violence, drawn together by God. At just eighteen years old, Faith Wells found herself trapped in a cycle of abuse. Then, just when she thought she was done, Darius made a promise to change for good, pulling her back onto his rollercoaster and derailing her life. First, she prayed God would change him and help him grow to be the man Faith knew he could be. Then, she got pregnant. Darius became enraged when she told him, forcing her to make a choice that would change her life irrevocably. In this moment of truth, she discovered her power, vowing never to accept another toxic relationship. Instead, Faith called on God for the strength to change her life. Arduous as it was, she removed Darius from her world and went to law school. Empowered by her past, she opened “First Step Women’s Shelter” to help other women pull themselves out of the violent cycle. Although, sometimes, she could see herself and the decisions she was forced to make reflected in their eyes, haunting her. There have been many women taken under Faith's wing, but none have inspired such an instant connection as Hope Owens-Towers. Hope dreamed of a fairytale wedding, a lovely home, healthy children, and an everlasting, profound love like that of her parents. She was certain she had found it all with Anthony, despite his occasional outbursts. However, his increasing aggression has pushed her to leave. Can she break the cycle before he breaks her? Read this inspiring and unforgettable women’s fiction story today!

This volume examines the relationship between hope, mobility, and immobility in African migration. Through case studies set within and beyond the continent, it demonstrates that hope offers a unique prism for analyzing the social imaginaries and aspirations which underpin migration in situations of uncertainty, deepening inequality, and delimited access to global circuits of legal mobility. The volume takes departure in a mobility paradox that characterizes contemporary migration. Whereas people all over the world are exposed to widening sets of meaning of the good life elsewhere, an increasing number of people in the Global South have little or no access to authorized modes of international migration. This book examines how African migrants respond to this situation. Focusing on hope, it explores migrants’ temporal and spatial horizons of expectation and possibility and how these horizons link to mobility practices. Such analysis is pertinent as precarious life conditions and increasingly restrictive regimes of mobility characterize the lives of many Africans, while migration continues to constitute important livelihood strategies and to be seen as pathways of improvement. Whereas involuntary immobility is one consequence, another is the emergence and consolidation of new destinations emerging in the Global South. The volume examines this development through empirically grounded and theoretically rich case studies in migrants’ countries of origin, zones of transit, and in new and established destinations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Latin America and China. It thereby offers an original perspective on linkages between migration, hope, and immobility, ranging from migration aspirations to return.

What hopeless situation troubles your heart? The death of a loved one? The memories of childhood abuse? The diagnosis of terminal illness? The strain of financial failure? A stormy marriage? A body wracked by pain? A lonely sense of emptiness? Into your hopeless situation comes beloved evangelist Billy Graham bearing God's gift of hope, one of the strongest "medicines" known to humanity, an amazing resource that "can cure nearly everything." Filled with unforgettable stories of real-life people and irrefutable lessons of biblical wisdom, Hope for the Troubled Heart inspires and encourages you with God's healing and strengthening truths. It shows you how to cope when your heart is breaking, how to pray through your pain, how to avoid the dark pit of resentment and bitterness, and how to be a comforter to others who hurt. You'll be reminded that "before we can grasp any meaning from suffering we must rest in God's unfailing love." And you'll find the "joy to be discovered in the midst of suffering." Here you'll learn how hope helps troubled hearts find peace.

I Still Have Hope follows author Fadwa Carradins journey from childhood in war-torn Jordan, through a painful arranged marriage and the loss of her children, to hope of renewal. When Fadwa was nineteen years old, her parents decided that she would marry a doctor they believed would provide well for her but who proved to be so controlling that he would not allow her to leave home or have any unsupervised contact with friends. Fadwa could not divorce her husband out of fear she would be shunned by her family, so she followed him to the United States and later, to Saudi Arabia, focusing on being a good mother. Seventeen years into their marriage, her husband took a second wife and left Fadwa without sufficient means to support their five children. The only way Fadwa could ensure her children would get an education and have any chance of success was to allow their father and stepmother to raise them in Saudi Arabia and Palestine, not knowing when she would see them again. She returned to the United States in search of new opportunities, even removing the hijab head covering she had worn from the age of ten, so she could serve in the U.S. Army. I Still Have Hope tells the story of Fadwas loss but also of her persistent efforts to rebuild her life and have contact with her children again.