About three-fourths of the poems in this book are concerned with the world around us, which we need to protect and preserve. They are the necessary prelude to the importance of creation care, which is addressed specifically in the concluding poems. The mountains and valleys are a source of sustenance for human beings, as well as for their animal population. The season cycles in the mountains are a delight with the tree leaves changing color. Riverbeds become almost dry from lack of rain, but in late spring they flow with the waters of melting snow. With each change of season, the sun circles the earth and sheds its light on places passed over in a previous season. This is experienced particularly in the mountain ranges of North America. They provide an amazing diversity of landscape, flora, and fauna, and options for the human food chain. Global warming, however, threatens the seasons, the life of the mountains’ flora and fauna, and even the ozone layer of the heavens. Hence, there is a call for creation care. Unless world powers step up and commit to preserving nature, forthcoming catastrophes can be clearly foreseen through careful scientific analysis. The responsibility is in the hands of the world’s most powerful nations.

Four newlywed couples, along with one single man, were sent to Oregon in 1838 to reinforce the two-year-old mission established by Marcus Whitman and Henry Spalding. These reinforcements were to become legendary in the history of the Pacific Northwest for the incessant bickering and petty jealousies that eventually caused the deaths of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and forced the abandonment of the mission effort. ø Uncertainty and conflict as well as willpower and endurance mark the story of the Oregon Mission and its charismatic, though contentious, missionaries. Simply getting to Oregon in the 1830s was a feat. Once they arrived, their efforts were doomed by their inability to agree on strategies for converting the Nez Percä and Spokane Indians. ø This Bison Books edition contains the very personal diary of Sarah Smith, ?the weeping one? as the Indians remembered her. When read in chronological sequence with the nearly one hundred letters written by her husband, Asa, a compelling picture of their journey to Oregon and subsequent life at the mission emerges. Other letters, documents, and biographical sketches enhance the volume.

High mountain habitats are globally important for biodiversity. At least 12% of birds worldwide breed at or above the treeline, many of which are endemic species or species of conservation concern. However, due to the challenges of studying mountain birds in difficult-to-access habitats, little is known about their status and trends. This book provides the first global review of the ecology, evolution, life history and conservation of high mountain birds, including comprehensive coverage of their key habitats across global mountain regions, assessments of diversity patterns along elevation gradients, and adaptations for life in the alpine zone. The main threats to mountain bird populations are also identified, including climate change, human land use and recreational activities. Written for ecologists and naturalists, this book identifies key knowledge gaps and clearly establishes the research priorities needed to increase our understanding of the ecology of mountain birds and to aid in their conservation.

The Shōbōgenzō (The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) is a revered eight-hundred-year-old Zen Buddhism classic written by the Japanese monk Eihei Dōgen. Despite the timeless wisdom of his teachings, many consider the book difficult to understand and daunting to read. In Don’t Be a Jerk, Zen priest and bestselling author Brad Warner, through accessible paraphrasing and incisive commentary, applies Dōgen’s teachings to modern times. While entertaining and sometimes irreverent, Warner is also an astute scholar who sees in Dōgen very modern psychological concepts, as well as insights on such topics as feminism and reincarnation. Warner even shows that Dōgen offered a “Middle Way” in the currently raging debate between science and religion. For curious readers worried that Dōgen’s teachings are too philosophically opaque, Don’t Be a Jerk is hilarious, understandable, and wise.

May you feel the love, presence, and tranquility of God, and may your love relationship with Him continue to grow throughout your life and beyond! A key question: What has God designed and placed us on this earthly journey to learn and/or do? Are your/my heart and action true to that calling? If so, are we being faithful to becoming what God created each of us individually to be? All is well Remember God’s words to His disciples, “This kind goes out but through prayer and fasting.” Always say, “All is well.” Long though the way may seem, there is no too much by half. God is not only with you on the journey, He planned it and is planning it. There are and will be unspeakable joys on that journey; look for them! Courage! Courage! Courage! Why are we so blind as to think earthly life is all there is? Why do we ignore the immense treasure of love? What does it take to understand and make it so?

Intended to inspire, deliver, uplift, enlighten, and encourage, this book shares some godly ideas and principles on how to resuscitate from the ashes of one’s losses and challenges, and to resurrect and blossom into a fuller, richer, and happier existence as intended by our Creator God who wants us to have life and have it more abundantly. The human journey on earth is dotted with experiences of difficult challenges of losses and intense encounters of unexpected barriers. While some sojourners face more of these challenges than others, everyone experiences them in one form or the other. This book is meant for all the individuals who are experiencing bereavement and grief; personal, career, job, or business losses; social, marital, or family-related losses; fortune or monetary losses; health-related losses; time-related losses; and or giant- and mountain-like challenges in their lives. Chapter 1 introduces the topic of overcoming your losses, giants, and mountains, including descriptions and definitions of different types of losses, giants, and mountains. Chapter 2 focuses on the painful occasion of the death of a loved one and some recommended steps to follow to make the experience more manageable, meaningful, and productive. Chapter 3 discusses how to deal with people's other losses, including career, business, and job losses; fortunes and property losses; social and relationship losses; loss of one’s health; and loss of one’s time. The challenge of dealing with your giants and mountains is discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 peeps into life beyond your losses, giants, and mountains and offers some suggestions on how to make that life more rewarding in your walk with God and man. Finally, chapter 6 discusses how to be born again into the Kingdom of God, to assist folks who want to be true Christians on how to get started.

A remarkable collaboration between a university music professor and her one-time student, a traditional Navajo who teaches on the reservation.