Grief Day

After years on the road performing at sold-out venues, Tyson Motsenbocker returned home to the impending death of his 57-year-old hero and mother. He begged God to heal her, but she died anyway. When they buried her body, Tyson also buried the childhood version of his faith. Shortly before her death, however, Tyson became intrigued by the complicated legacy of Father Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Franciscan monk and canonized saint who dedicated his life to the idea that tragedy and suffering are portals to renewal.

Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz - just sixty years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy - collapsed and died on a Washington, D. C. sidewalk.

Life is marked by a variety of losses, says certified trauma specialist H. Norman Wright. Some are life-changing, such as leaving home, the effects of natural disasters or war, the death of a loved one, or divorce. Others are subtle, such as changing jobs, moving, or a broken friendship. But whether listeners encounter family, personal, or community disaster, there is always potential for change, growth, new insight, understanding, and refinement.

We live in an amazing Universe. Sometimes things happen in our lives where we have no idea of just how that experience will change our lives from that moment on. Like having a dog. They give us love. We give them love. And they make us better just because we loved them. But there’s more. Lots more. Behind the outward affection and love we share with them, come lessons about love, about life and about ourselves that would not and could not have happened unless our dog was in our life. Yet there’s a surprise. It’s a message your most beloved best friend wants you to know, a message you ...

In 2013, Neil Hilborn's performance of his poem "OCD" went viral. To date, it has been watched over 100 million times. Our Numbered Days is Neil’s debut full-length poetry collection, containing 45 of Neil's poems including "OCD", "Joey", "Future Tense", "Liminality", "Moving Day", and many, many never-before-seen poems.

From your heart’s deepest cry to life’s joyful praises, nothing is off limits to Jesus.Knowing Jesus on a deeper, more personal level means sharing all aspects of your life with Him…every day. In Dear Jesus, Sarah Young exemplifies what it means to do this - to dialogue with the Savior. She begins each of the 120 devotionals by sharing intimate struggles and longings that weigh on the heart - being preoccupied with problems; being dissatisfied with oneself, and other spiritual issues.

Here is what readers are saying: "This collection of daily words and questions carefully and respectfully encouraged me to look deeply into my brokenness, to honestly examine my exile, and, so importantly, led me toward a land I'd thought was gone, a land called hope. If healing is coming into right relationship with our God and ourselves, then this collection of grace-balm words has brought me closer to my God and myself, with plenty of grace to offer to others along the way. Out of Exile - a graceful companion to a journey pastors and others may walk again." "I was personally challenged ...

If you've lost a spouse, child, family member, or friend, you've discovered that few people understand the deep hurt you feel. Through a Season of Grief is the first 365-day devotional designed to support and uplift you in the first, most difficult year of bereavement. These devotions offer biblical comfort and practical teaching that will enable you to take steps forward each day toward healing. You will better understand the grieving process and will receive needed encouragement along the way.

Not every fairytale starts with once upon a time. She built an empire one spreadsheet at a time. Now she’s burying the woman who raised her, facing the man she once left behind, and discovering a life she never planned—but might just need. Rachel Ashcroft has everything she thought she wanted—a high-powered career, a luxury apartment, and a calendar so full she doesn’t have time to breathe. But when her grandmother passes away, she’s forced to return to the sleepy hometown she once fled and the house full of memories she never meant to inherit. She expects to be in and out in a ...

A story of addiction, marriage, and more than anything, love. We fell into each other from the start, although it would take a dozen years before we actually connected at the deepest level. I haven't written the middle part yet, our years together as he struggled with depression and alcoholism. Those are hard years to write about because I suppose I just want to remember the main thing - he was the love of my life.And one day, his sister calls me, "Alex is dying."You can know, really know, that this is coming, but somehow hearing the words knock the soul out of you anyway. "Where is he?" I ...

In Courageously Expecting, author Jenny Albers meets you in this difficult season as someone who has also experienced the worst and cautiously hoped for the best. She invites you on a thirty-day journey through the complicated and often contradictory emotions that accompany pregnancy after a loss.

Renew your appreciation for the breathtaking beauty that surrounds us in life's simplest details. Encouraging you to reflect even deeper on the concepts explored in her bestselling book One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp offers sixty wisdom-soaked devotions, complete with scriptures, prayers, and reflection questions.

Navigate the Aftermath of Loss in 'Freestyling Grief' - A Raw and Unconventional Guide to Survival and Growth “Love is the best thing. It's egalitarian & free. Its only conditions are emotional maturity and reciprocity.” - Melinda Herndon (American Adventurer and Author of Novel ToMe & Freestyling Grief) In “Freestyling Grief ” by Melinda Herndon, traditional grief stages are challenged as the author shares her raw and personal journey after losing her husband. Driven by a desire to offer fresh survival strategies, Herndon navigates through denial, anger, and depression, shedding ...

Rasmus and Jay, Róisín and Nico: two couples, strangers to each other. Two beautiful, ordinary love stories, cut short. Both in their thirties and too young to be widowed, Róisín swears she still feels Nico beside her in bed and Rasmus hears Jay as he writes songs at the piano. Jay and Nico don’t even believe in ghosts, yet here they still are. Still in love with Rasmus and Róisín. And maddeningly powerless. Until Jay has an idea that Nico wants no part of—bringing Róisín and Rasmus together. It’s crazy enough that it just might work.

On a family summer holiday in Cornwall in 1978, Richard and his younger brother Nicholas are jumping in the waves. Suddenly, Nicholas is out of his depth. One moment he's there, the next he's gone. Richard and his other brothers don't attend the funeral, and the family returns immediately to the same cottage—to complete the holiday in the best British tradition. The Day That Went Missing is a transcendent story of guilt and forgiveness, of reckoning with unspeakable loss. But, above all, it is a brother's most tender act of remembrance, and a man's brave act of survival....

What if your childhood daydream wasn’t just a fantasy—but a doorway to the unimaginable? For three years, Jonas Shay has tried to forget Extraordinary, the imaginary world he once escaped to after his mother’s disappearance. With his dad’s help, he buried the daydream, convinced himself it wasn’t real. But now, just shy of thirteen, the whispers are back—talking seagulls, meddling elfins, a world that refuses to stay forgotten. Soon, Jonas learns the impossible: his mother is alive, trapped somewhere inside Extraordinary. Reality slips away as Jonas plunges back into the world ...

Everybody waits. We wait for a spouse, wait for a baby, wait on our children, wait for our parents. We wait for clarity and direction. We wait on a job, a promotion, a new direction. We wait for hope, for healing, and for miracles. We wait on God. And when we misunderstand what waiting is about, we can get confused about what God is up to. Waiting is one of God’s favorite tools. He can do certain things in our hearts, our lives, and our relationships while we wait - things we cannot experience once we’ve opened the gift we have been waiting for.

20 Days Changed Everything gives an in-depth account of a love story that dissolves the veil of dimensions from the death of the physical body to the miraculous afterlife connection shared by two souls; Becki here on the planet and Jack in the afterlife. They take us on an intimate, heartfelt journey through Jack’s 20-day conscious death process and into Becki’s nine-month discovery of life afterlife communication with him.

Flight 3272 January 9, 1997. The day my life changed, but God brought me through. Forward by Dr. Byron C. Hayes Vanessa Davis tells of the true story of losing her husband, Geoffrey, on their 15th wedding anniversary in the only commercial airline crash of 1997. Her life could have resulted in anger and defeat, but instead she explains how she overcame her tremendous grief to a life of triumph. This is her inspiring story. Published by All Star Press - Books that Change Lives About Vanessa "Courageous, Strong and Anointed" best describes this powerful women of God. Vanessa Davis is a ...

Wilderness Meditations is a 40-day devotional guide designed for the season of Lent, inviting readers on a journey toward deeper intimacy with Jesus in preparation for Easter. While originally created for Lent, the devotions are equally suited for times of fasting, spiritual retreats, small group studies, or personal spiritual growth throughout the year. Each day’s devotion centers on a specific aspect of Christ’s character, offering a theme for meditation, Scripture passages for reflection, and thoughtful guidance to help you engage in meaningful prayer. Designed to be completed in ...