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Spirituality and Religion May 2024 |
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Hard Is Not the Same Thing As Bad by Abbie Halberstadt“Why me, Lord?”
Amid the toddler tantrums, the mealtime melees, and the backseat blowups, have you found yourself asking God that same question? Maybe even screaming it into a couch pillow? You’re not alone.
Your most trying moments as a mother can quickly spiral into discouragement, hopelessness, and sometimes even resentment toward God or your family—partly because our culture has conditioned us to believe that anything this hard can’t possibly be good for us.
Abbie Halberstadt, author of the bestselling M Is for Mama, shares scriptural wisdom and lessons learned from her own challenges as a mama of ten to help shift your perspective on the hardships of motherhood and of life, in general.
When you begin to see struggles as a necessary part of God’s plan for your spiritual growth, you can discover supernatural peace and purpose, even when you’re down in the deepest trenches of motherhood.
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Goodbye Hello: Processing Grief and Understanding Death Through the Paranormal
by Adam Berry
Death affects us all--not just at the end of our lives, but every day. And yet, it's one of the most feared and misunderstood things we face. But what if there was a way to know more and use that knowledge to inform our daily lives? The first of its kind, Goodbye Hello blends supernatural research with psychology to explore death and grief. Written by paranormal investigator and star of Kindred spirits and Ghost hunters Adam Berry, this book will not only entertain but offer comfort to those struggling to come to terms with loss, grief, and the end of life.
Goodbye Hello answers questions such as: Why do spirits linger around in this world? Is there a ''light'' at the end of the tunnel? Can you connect with spirits in your dreams? How do you prepare for what's next? Featuring incredible stories of real people who connected with the spirits of loved ones as well as interviews with paranormal experts Amy Bruni, Chip Coffey, and many more, Goodbye Hello helps you understand where you go after this life and why some stick around. Whether you want to believe in the afterlife, don't believe in it at all, or just want to come to your own conclusions, Goodbye Hello is the ultimate paranormal guide for you.
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The magickal practice of Wicca centers devotion to nature, promotes peace and balance, and embraces self-determination. Walk down the divine path with Modern Wicca, an up-to-date overview of the principles of the faith. Whether you're just starting out or have already begun your journey, this inclusive guide can help you focus your intentions and claim your personal power.
Learn the history of Wicca, and find out how it has evolved into the modern day. Get acquainted with common deities of the Wiccan traditions, observe the spiritual significance of the holidays, and celebrate the full moon's monthly cycles. Details for creating altars, gathering tools, and spellcasting offer plenty of possibilities to adapt and enrich your worship.
Inside Modern Wicca, you'll find:- Diverse traditions—Explore the variety of belief systems, and examine the pros and cons of joining a coven or practicing Wicca solitarily.
- The power of spells—Harness spell casting for positive change with 8 spells for protection, house purification, healing, and more.
- Rituals and rites—Learn 8 key rituals to foster connection with the moon and sun, Goddess and God, and Mother Earth throughout life.
Step into the light of the Wiccan way with the guidance of Modern Wicca. |
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Mostly what God does is love you. If we could believe this, really believe this, how different would we be? How different would our lives be? How different would our world be? If you ever struggle with your connection to God (or whether you even feel connected to a faith at all!), you're not alone. Especially in our modern world, with its relentless, never-ending news cycle, we can all grapple with such questions. Do we do that alone, with despair and resignation? Or do we make sense of it with God, and with hope? In these uncertain times, could believing in the power of divine love make the most sense? In this collection of essays, Savannah Guthrie shares why she believes it does. Unspooling personal stories from her own joys and sorrows as a daughter, mother, wife, friend, and professional journalist, the award-winning TODAY show coanchor and New York Times bestselling author explores the place of faith in everyday life. Sharing hard-won wisdom forged from mountaintop triumphs, crushing failures, and even the mundane moments of day-to-day living, Mostly What God Does reveals the transformative ways that belief in God helps us discover real hope for this life and beyond. A perfect companion to your morning cup of coffee, this incisive volume—not a memoir but a beautiful tapestry of reflections crafted as a spiritual manual—includes: - a fresh, biblically rooted look at six essentials of faith: love, presence, grace, hope, gratitude, and purpose;
- an honest exploration of questions, doubts, and fears about the love of God;
- a dose of encouragement for the faith-full, the faith-curious, and the faith-less; and
- …and much more.
This deeply personal collection is designed to engage the practical ways that God loves you—not just the world, but you—and to inspire you to venture down a path of faith that is authentic, hopeful, destiny-shaping, and ultimately life-changing. |
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Liberated Love: Release Codependent Patterns and Create the Love You Desire by Mark GrovesWe all desire great love. Yet, there seems to be a lot in the way when it comes to cultivating a relationship we crave.
Why is that?
It’s time for a new template ― one rooted in choice, truth, safety, and respect. To get us there, Mark Groves and Kylie McBeath, champions of positive philosophy, provide us a roadmap, one they walked themselves, to step out of protection mode and into connection mode.
Groves and McBeath’s work―through their Create the Love seminars, workbooks, and consultation programs―have educated a new generation of relationship seekers on the best ways to practice and cultivate love. In Liberated Love, you’ll explore your original relationship blueprint and learn how it informs your current relationships (spoiler alert: it’s often a pretty direct line), and discover how limitation can be the key to finding freedom and experiencing full, fully-realized love with another person.
Equipped with real-life situations and stories, exercises, rituals, and tools that lead to productive self-examination, Groves and McBeath illuminate how to be aware of our most instinctual defenses, survival strategies, and coping mechanisms, how to have conversations about relationships without turning them into “relationship conversations,” and how to date in a way that protects your heart as you open it up to new possibilities.
In these pages, in a format you’ll want to turn to again and again, you’ll learn how to begin and maintain relationships that allow true self-expression―to feel safe and to feel real, involving, sustaining love.
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| The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammonGrowing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, or that her Muslim friend would need to be converted, and that she, too, would go to hell if she did not believe fervently enough, McCammon was a rule-follower and―most of the time―a true believer. But through it all, she was increasingly plagued by fears and deep questions as the belief system she'd been carefully taught clashed with her expanding understanding of the outside world.
After spending her early adult life striving to make sense of an unraveling worldview, by her 30s, she found herself face-to-face with it once again as she covered the Trump campaign for NPR, where she witnessed first-hand the power and influence that evangelical Christian beliefs held on the political right.
Sarah also came to discover that she was not alone: she is among a rising generation of the children of evangelicalism who are growing up and fleeing the fold, who are thinking for themselves and deconstructing what feel like the “alternative facts” of their childhood.
Rigorously reported and deeply personal, The Exvangelicals is the story of the people who make up this generational tipping point, including Sarah herself. Part memoir, part investigative journalism, this is the first definitive book that names and describes the post-evangelical movement: identifying its origins, telling the stories of its members, and examining its vast cultural, social, and political impact. |
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Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Arthur C. BrooksIn Build the Life You Want, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey invite you to begin a journey toward greater happiness no matter how challenging your circumstances. Drawing on cutting-edge science and their years of helping people translate ideas into action, they show you how to improve your life right now instead of waiting for the outside world to change.
With insight, compassion, and hope, Brooks and Winfrey reveal how the tools of emotional self-management can change your life―immediately. They recommend practical, research-based practices to build the four pillars of happiness: family, friendship, work, and faith. And along the way, they share hard-earned wisdom from their own lives and careers as well as the witness of regular people whose lives are joyful despite setbacks and hardship.
Equipped with the tools of emotional self-management and ready to build your four pillars, you can take control of your present and future rather than hoping and waiting for your circumstances to improve. Build the Life You Want is your blueprint for a better life.
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| Reading Genesis by Marilynne RobinsonOne of our greatest novelists and thinkers presents a radiant, thrilling interpretation of the book of Genesis.For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fundamentalist interpretation has centered on the question of the appropriateness of reading it as literally true.
Both of these approaches preclude an appreciation of its greatness as literature, its rich articulation and exploration of themes that resonate through the whole of Scripture. Marilynne Robinson’s Reading Genesis, which includes the full text of the King James Version of the book, is a powerful consideration of the profound meanings and promise of God’s enduring covenant with humanity. This magisterial book radiates gratitude for the constancy and benevolence of God’s abiding faith in Creation. |
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The Pathway to Success: Letting God Lead You to a Life of Meaning and Purpose by Joyce MeyerThe world tells us that having a good job, owning your own business, money, fame, and influence are all important for a successful life. If we don’t have them, we feel like a failure. But even when we achieve them, we still end up unhappy, unfulfilled, or lonely.
God wants us to be successful, but His definition of success is not the same as the world's definition. The truth is, God’s way of achieving the dreams and desires that truly fulfill us and bring genuine joy to our lives is very different—and that is what we need.
In The Pathway to Success, you will discover a deeper understanding of what it means to seek success God's way. Through her practical, relatable insights based on God’s Word, beloved Bible teacher Joyce Meyer reveals how to actively pursue the keys to true, lasting success. Full of rich encouragement and timeless wisdom, The Pathway to Success will allow you to refocus your life and fulfill your God-given destiny as you walk out the purpose He’s planned for you.
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You’re a witch on a budget!
It’s time to de-influence witchcraft! Cultivating a beautiful magickal practice doesn’t have to break the bank. Whether you want to attract abundance, boost your luck, heal yourself, or protect your home, The Broke Witch has you covered. It’s brimming with tips and tricks for the thrifty witch that put the practical back in magick.
- Discover bewitching rituals, recipes, ingredients, and tools for every budget
- Infuse everyday habits and activities with powerful magick
- Learn which magickal materials you can swap in a pinch
With The Broke Witch by your side, you can create an authentic and economical practice that evolves with you―no elaborate crystal grids or designer herb bundles required! |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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