Family Ministry

For many, friends now play the role of family, but often our friendships don't turn out quite as we envisioned or hoped. Bible teacher Kelly Needham debunks our world's constricted, small view of friendship and casts a richer, more life-giving, biblical vision for friendship. In Friend-ish, Kelly Needham takes a close look at what scripture says about friendship. She reveals the distorted view most of us have of it and recasts a glorious vision for a Christian understanding.

It was an annus horribilis for Iran's Supreme Leader. The Green Movement had been crushed, but the regime was on edge, anxious lest democratic protests resurge. International sanctions were dragging down the economy while talk of war with the West grew. Hooman Majd was there for all of it. A new father at age fifty, he decided to take his blonde, blue-eyed Midwestern yoga instructor wife Karri and his adorable, only-eats-organic infant son Khash from their hip Brooklyn neighborhood to spend a year in the land of his birth.

Elizabeth Passarella grew up in Memphis in a conservative Republican family with a Christian mom and a Jewish dad. Then she moved to New York, fell in love with the city - and, eventually, her husband - and changed. Sort of. While her politics have tilted to the left, she still puts her faith first - and argues that the two can go hand in hand, for what it’s worth. In this sharp and slyly profound memoir, Elizabeth shares stories and upends stereotypes about Southerners, New Yorkers, and Christians, making a case that we are all flawed humans simply doing our best.

Ever wonder why mothers and daughters can be so different and even seem to speak different languages? Mended gives you conversation starters to speak life into your relationship with your mother or daughter. Discover powerful words that usher in healing for wounded hearts and rebuild, restore, and reconcile your connection. Set new patterns going forward as you find common ground and put your relationship ahead of your differences, learn what to say when you don't know what to say, and grow closer when you do hard things together.

If you have ever forgotten to pick up your kids, accidentally worn two different shoes to the grocery store, or lost your cool over a messy house, you are not alone! In No More Perfect Moms, Jill Savage says it how it is: All moms struggle. We fall short of our own standards of excellence, and then we feel insecure about not being the perfect wife with the perfect kids, perfect husband, perfect home, perfect friends, perfect marriage, and perfect body. Jill speaks to the root of the insecurities mothers feel and points to a better way.

Healthy relationships across cultures are possible. Dr. Michelle Reyes takes a close look at the concept of cultural accommodation found in Scripture—and especially in the letter of 1 Corinthians—to redefine how Christians interact with cultural narratives that are different from their own.

If you are currently providing care for your aging parents or facing the prospect of doing so in the near future, you are definitely not alone. Dr. Grant Ethridge and his wife, Tammy, have been there, having given care during their dads' last days. They know the stress and uncertainty you face. Through their story and those of other caregivers, Grant and Tammy share research and practical tips to aid you in dealing with everyday caregiving struggles and situations. You will learn how to decide which care is best, prepare legal documents, handle family disputes, and much more.

Many people did not grow up in a Christian home, and many more do not consider their childhood experience a good model. Robert Wolgemuth presents this inspiring, practical audiobook for people who want to have a Christian home.

Anxiety among Catholic mothers is sky high. How do we teach our sons to be chaste when a sex-obsessed culture is ready to drag our boys into the pit at every turn? All we want to do is protect the innocence of our little ones and the honor of our teens, yet the snares of ubiquitous porn, hook-up sex, the LGBTQ juggernaut, and the devaluing of true manhood appear unavoidable. What's a mother to do?

Raising kids and building families is tough these days. We live in a broken society that celebrates sin and minimizes family relationships. Is it possible for Christian parents in today's society to raise emotionally healthy kids who love God and are equipped to do God's will for their lives? Yes. Emphatically, yes. God has entrusted you, as a parent, to care for and raise your children for him, and he has given you the resources you need for the job.

If we're honest with ourselves, almost every mom knows she can go from being kind to cranky in no time flat. When we're tired, busy, anxious, preoccupied - okay, so anytime, really - we tend to default to snapping and barking at the people we love best. But life doesn't have to be this way. Through coaching other moms who share a desire to be a kinder, gentler parent, Becky Kopitzke has learned the keys to taming the "momster" in all of us.

Moms' Ultimate Guide to the Tween Girl Years gives mothers practical advice and spiritual inspiration that will enable them to see their mini-women into adolescence strong, confident, authentic, and God-centered, even in a morally challenged society--without losing their childhoods before they're ready.

In this 52-week devotional, Bruce Gordon challenges the idea that youth is the best part of life. He asserts that we make too little of our opportunities in later life - we were made for more than the golf course or the rocking chair! These practical devotionals, steeped in Scripture, will help you transition to a time of life that can be rich with purpose, significance, and hope as you serve God. You’ll be encouraged and empowered to build a life that matters now and for eternity. Discover for yourself that the best years, the most impactful years of your life, are still to come.

Alongside offers practical application and biblical truths to highlight the complexities of relational youth ministry, address the needs real teenagers encounter in their daily lives, and engage their hearts rather than just their behavior. Hill explores what it looks like to not only share the love of Jesus with our teenage friends but to share our very lives with them, as well.

God has dreams - just for you. You are on the most important journey you’ll ever take - the journey of becoming yourself through the love of God. You might sometimes feel inadequate in the world’s eyes, but the truth is that you are beautiful, valuable, and made with a purpose!In Free to Be Me, Stasi Eldredge tells stories about her own struggles and hopes as she helps you recognize God’s truth about your beauty and worthiness. Learn who God created you to be and the amazing dreams he has for you.

No Better Mom for the Job is for any mom who has ever felt inadequate - who loves her kids fiercely but sometimes thinks another mom would do a better job in her shoes. Becky Keife knows the ups and downs of motherhood. And she has learned along the way and from other mamas that it doesn't work to try to do more or be better. Confidence comes from leaning on the One who made you a mother.

The Goyer home - made up of two parents, eight kids, and one grandmother with dementia - is never without noise, mess, and, often, complaining. And it's not just the kids grumbling. Adopting seven children in less than six years has been an adjustment, but it's time to move out of survival-mode and into growth-mode. So, the family decides to tackle the impossible: a grumble-free year. What could possibly go awry? The Grumble-Free Year follows the Goyers as they go complaint-free and discover what it looks like to develop hearts of gratitude.

Since the very beginning, God's design for marriage is for husbands and wives to be ambassadors of holy love to a hurting world. Still, so many couples stop short at happy and wonder why they feel unsatisfied. Rather than "you and me against the world", God calls each couple to the rich and meaningful mission of "you and me for the world".

You can meet Hannah in 1 Samuel, chapters 1 and 2. The Bible says she was "barren", and we know she suffered heartache, anguish, and grief because of her empty arms. Perhaps you do, too. Hannah's Hope is for all who long for a child yet to be conceived, grieve for a baby too soon passed from the womb, or have lived through the no-man's-land of failed adoption. It is intended as a guide to assist you in making wise decisions as you struggle through your grief.

From the cradle to college, tell your daughters the truth about life before they believe the culture's lies. For mothers with girls newborn to 18, 5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter is simply a must-have book. Youth culture commentator Vicki Courtney helps moms pinpoint and prepare the discussions that should be ongoing in their daughters' formative years.