Difficult Times

Hard times make us look for God. Everyone has problems. But if we could solve all our difficulties ourselves, would we ever search for God? Psychologist John Townsend says "It is actually the very unfixability of our problems and our powerlessness to bring right results that keep us asking, 'Where is God?'" With a compelling narrative, Townsend offers new insights into the pursuit for God's help and presence.

Set across the United States and abroad, Meron Hadero’s stories feature immigrants, refugees, and those on the brink of dispossession, all struggling to begin again, all fighting to belong. Moving through diverse geographies and styles, this captivating collection follows characters on the journey toward home, which they dream of, create and redefine, lose and find, and make their own. Beyond migration, these stories examine themes of race, gender, class, friendship, betrayal, the despair of loss, and the enduring resilience of hope.

For a family with four kids, two dogs, assorted cats, and a constant stream of family and friends dropping by, life in the Austin family home has always been remarkably steady and contented. When a family friend suddenly dies in a plane crash, the Austins open their home to an orphaned girl, Maggy Hamilton. The Austin children - Vicky, John, Suzy, and Rob - do their best to be generous and welcoming to Maggy. Vicky knows she should feel sorry for Maggy, but having sympathy for Maggy is no easy thing.

What if finding her means losing himself? Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he could travel through time. When he was 10, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at 15, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he's actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers".

Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable. Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia.

The beautiful struggle of a girl desperate for the one relationship that has caused her the most pain. Cassie O'Malley has spent the past two and a half years in a mental institution - dumped there by her mother, against her will. Now, at 18, Cassie emancipates herself, determined to start over. She attends college, forms new friendships, and even attempts to start fresh with her mother. But before long, their unhealthy relationship threatens to pull Cassie under once again.

Through the eyes of a distinctly non-athletic protagonist - a fat high school journalist named Mitch - veteran sports novelist Deuker reveals the surprising truth behind a mysterious football player named Angel. When Angel shows up at Lincoln High, he seems to have no past - or at least not one he is willing to discuss. Though Mitch gets a glimpse of Angel's incredible talent off the field, Angel rarely allows himself to shine on the field. Is he an undercover cop, wonders Mitch? Or an ineligible player? In pursuit of a killer story, Mitch decides to find out just who this player is.

Kyle y Kimberly eran la pareja perfecta desde el instituto. Pero la noche de su graduación tienen un accidente de coche y Kimberly muere. La vida de Kyle cambia para siempre y no parece que nadie pueda entender cómo se siente. Hasta que llega Marley. Ella también está pasando por una situación similar y, cuando conoce a Kyle, todas sus emociones secretas y nunca dichas conectan inmediatamente.

Her life by the sea in ruins, Pen has lost everything in the Earth Shaker that all but destroyed the city of Los Angeles. She sets out into the wasteland to search for her family, her journey guided by a tattered copy of Homer’s Odyssey. Soon she begins to realize her own abilities and strength as she faces false promises of safety, the cloned giants who feast on humans, and a madman who wishes her dead. On her voyage, Pen learns to tell stories that reflect her strange visions, while she and her fellow survivors navigate the dangers that lie in wait. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely.

In Finding Serenity in Seasons of Stress, Candy Paull reveals that cultivating inner serenity can begin with small adjustments. By understanding serenity as a gift that comes moment by moment and choice by choice, it can grow from within and expand outward - whether you are facing a storm or standing in the sun of a shining day.

Hadley Jamison is shocked when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, has committed suicide. She didn't know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but that doesn't stop her from feeling there was something she could have done to help him. Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer's funeral. There, Hadley is approached by a man who calls himself Death and offers her a deal. If Hadley accepts, she will be sent back 27 days in time to prevent Archer from killing himself.

Four teens have dug up the time capsule that their parents buried in 1986 and never bothered to recover. But in addition to the expected ephemera of mixtapes, Walkmans, photographs, letters, toys, and assorted junk, Elayah, Liam, Marcie, and Jorja discover something sinister: a hunting knife stained with blood and wrapped with a note. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill anyone."

Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life - until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she embeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp.

We talk every day—and we often do it without thinking. But, as you well know, there are some things that are harder to talk about—especially issues pertaining to politics, culture, lifestyle, and diversity. This groundbreaking book will show you how to get to that important next level in difficult conversations, to talk in an authentic and straightforward way about culture and diversity, and to speak from the heart with tools from the head. You'll learn to navigate these difficult conversations, and take what you've learned beyond the conversation and out into the world.

We all long for certainty in life, yet things often don't go as we expect. When facing illness, job loss, strained relationships, and other struggles, our impulse is to question God and strive to fix things ourselves. In this book, Shelly Miller, a trusted ministry leader, explores how difficult times can actually be purposeful times of spiritual growth.

After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. Though her parents think they can protect her, she finds a Web site for "completers" that seems made just for her. She blogs on its forums, purging her harrowing history. At her private Catholic school, the only person who interacts with her is a boy named Santana. No matter how poorly she treats him, he just won’t leave her alone. And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life...isn’t it?

In one moment Nicole Burns's life changes forever. The sound of gunfire at an Anne Frank exhibit, the panic, the crowd, and Nicole is no longer Nicole. Whiplashed through time and space, she wakes to find herself a privileged Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II.

We often look forward, hoping our circumstances will bring us a sense of peace and calm. Unfortunately, we simply can’t control all our surroundings and the events that happen to us. They are often beyond our jurisdiction and power. This book will give you keys to experiencing peace, calm, and composure, regardless of what may be occurring around you. David Johnston uses the vetted and verified ancient documents, the Scriptures, to demonstrate God’s unquestionable way to tranquility and true lasting peace.

Jacob and Emilia’s souls are bound together, a bond only death can sever. But the Pendragon is hunting the Gray Clan, and there is no place left to hide. When a traitor threatens the lives of everyone he loves, Jacob makes an unthinkable deal to save an innocent life. But his sacrifice is greater than he thought possible. Trapped in the darkness with time running out, Jacob and Emilia must choose between a peaceful future apart and the bloody road they travel together.

You do not need a $3,000-spa retreat for two weeks to regain or regenerate your mind. You can cower in the face of kombucha or be someone who slips into sleep during savasana, yet with Healthy Mind Difficult Times, you will be guided gently toward a beautiful, bolstered brain. Healthy Mind in Difficult Times provides a baseline of understanding by addressing and explaining the basics about our brains. The book sets out applicable step-by-step guidelines that can fluctuate and flex, meeting you where you are at this moment.