Showing results by narrator "Lisa Larsen" in All Categories

When five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers. Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

Pastor Tara Beth Leach continues, "I hated that I was marked by fear," reflecting on how fear and anxiety can plague a Six - whether they are pulling back from or diving right in to the things that feel threatening. She explores what it means for her to be a redeemed Six who is allowing Jesus to transform her a little at a time.

When we’re in the Certainty Trap, we tend to view people who disagree with us as hateful, ignorant, or just plain stupid. When it comes to heated social and political issues in particular, many of us know this feeling well—a consuming state of righteous indignation and moral outrage. By committing to challenging and clarifying our thinking—by avoiding the trap certainty sets for us—we can increase social trust, reduce political polarization, and better address the world’s pressing challenges.

Living in a disorganized, cluttered home can leave you feeling chaotic, anxious, and even depressed. You want a change, but you don't know where to begin. Home coach Shannon Acheson is here to help. She has written the only book you'll ever need to get your entire home sorted and organized for good-in a way that makes sense for you and your family's unique God-given personalities. Clutter isn't just about the stuff. It's about how you feel in your home—and in your mind. This book will give you the peaceful dwelling you've always hoped for.

When Beck Holiday lost her father in the North Tower on 9/11, she also lost her memories of him. Eighteen years later, she’s a tough New York City cop burdened with a damaging secret, suspended for misconduct, and struggling to get her life in order. Meanwhile, a mysterious letter arrives informing her she's inherited a house along Florida’s northern coast, and what she discovers there will change her life forever. Matters of the heart only become more complicated when she runs into handsome Bruno Endicott, a driven sports agent.

Emmy Kegler has a complicated relationship with the Bible. As a queer woman who grew up in both conservative Evangelical and progressive Protestant churches, she knows too well how Scripture can be used to wound and exclude. And yet, the stories of Scripture continue to captivate and inspire her - both as a person of faith and as a pastor to a congregation. So she set out to fall in love with the Bible, wrestling with the stories inside, where she met a God who continues to seek us out - appearing again and again as a voice, a presence, and a promise.

When Mia Sinclair-Kroner wakes from a coma, all she can remember are the movies she’s known and loved. Her college friends quickly assemble for a weekend party, in an effort to help her remember. But with old friends come old wounds, and it soon becomes clear that Mia’s accident might not have been an accident at all.

"I don't care for vocational books written in the United States; they're too American." When Susan Maros heard this comment from a Malaysian colleague, she was initially taken aback. Isn't the concept of calling universal? Why wouldn't resources with a biblical perspective on vocation apply to everyone? The reality is that each of us encounters our questions of calling from within a particular context.

Glenna Marshall's awakening to God's presence began in the depths of winter. Rereading her journal, she realized that for six months she'd been cataloging all the ways God had abandoned her. What if that . . . wasn't true? Interweaving her own story of faith and doubt amid suffering, Glenna traces the theme of God's presence from Genesis to Revelation and shows what it means for us in our own daily joys and struggles.

If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? This heartwarming and hilarious novel features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned 40, the year that altered all of their lives in ways big and small - and get the opportunity to change their future. But it doesn't take long for all three women to learn that reliving a life and making different decisions leads only to new problems and consequences and that the mistakes they made may in fact have been the best choices.

We've all been taught that we must suppress or avoid emotions at work, but this inevitably leads to a loss in productivity, diminished creativity, and crushing job dissatisfaction. Research shows 85 percent of us avoid communicating crucial workplace problems upward, and many of us who are employed are actively looking for a different job. What's going on?

Parents and children need a lot of help from the One who is perfect and who understands our need: God himself. Peace and Scott emphasize your family's most important relationship: your relationship with God.

Long distance runner Riley has been fighting various bewildering symptoms for months, from vertigo to fainting spells. Worse, her doctors can’t tell her what’s wrong, leaving her to wonder if it’s stress or something more threatening. But when her brother’s fiancée is killed—and he becomes the prime suspect—Riley must prove his innocence, despite the toll on her health. As she reacquaints herself with the familiar houses and wild woods of her childhood, the secrets she uncovers take her on a trail to the real killer that leads right back to the very people she knows best and loves most.

With fresh prophetic insight and practical wisdom, Kim Maas calls you away from the competing voices in culture by reminding you of the brave women in Scripture. Battling struggles, loss, and judgment amid cultural oppression and religious suppression, these women were politically savvy, prophetically perceptive, and covenantally obedient. And their lives give you permission to be audacious, showing you how to break through cultural barriers, religious traditions, and political limitations; refuse to be defined by your circumstances; and discover your Kingdom identity and purpose.

If you think sex education is still about the birds and the bees, think again. And it's not about science either. In her shocking exposé, You're Teaching My Child What?, Dr. Miriam Grossman rips back the curtain on sex education today, exposing a sordid truth. Today's sex ed programs aren't based on science; they're based on liberal lies and politically correct propaganda that promote the illusion that children (yes, children) can be sexually free without risk.

Someone slipped one of the monkey brothers a bad bunch of bananas. Now, Madam Electra and Officer Bruno have to figure out who is behind the malarkey spreading throughout the circus. Unfortunately, Electra’s cryptic crystal ball makes finding answers no easy cakewalk.

Holiday Recipe for Madcap Merrymaking in Jackrabbit Junction: Start with a bawdy night sprinkled with tinsel tassels and jingle balls, toss in a missing pair of underwear, and top it all off with plenty of sugary shenanigans. Serve with a side of naughty and nice. Claire Morgan and her sisters are a tad twitchy. Their father is on his way for their first Christmas in Arizona, but the tidings of joy are few and far between. For one thing, their mother is pissed about her ex-husband flying in to play Santa. For another, their mother is just pissed. Period.

The vital skills children need to achieve their full potential! Being organized. Staying focused. Controlling impulses and emotions. These are some of the basic executive functioning (EF) skills children need to function and succeed as they grow. But what can you do if your child is struggling with one or all of these skills? With this hands-on guide, you'll learn what EF difficulties look like and how you can help your child overcome these challenges. Psychologist Rebecca Branstetter teaches you how to help improve the executive functions

While many aspects of leadership development are similar for women and men, women face different cultural expectations and have different experiences than their male counterparts. Anna Morgan's own experiences in pastoral ministry leadership launched her search for a holistic way to grow the skills, influence, and authority of women who are gifted and called as leaders. This book provides a positive, comprehensive research-based model for developing women in church and ministry leadership. Morgan identifies seven aspects of leadership development that form a woman over her lifetime.

Author Kandi Gallaty helps you develop an effective disciple-making strategy in your life and the lives of others. Disciple Her is filled with Kandi’s personal stories, more than a decade’s worth of discipleship experiences, and most importantly, her commitment to the word of God. Kandi doesn’t stop at helping women understand what discipleship is - she gives them a practical game plan for weaving it into their weekly lifestyle, and teaching those they disciple to do the same.