Inspirational Nonfiction

Best-selling author Amy Clipston's Kauffman Amish Bakery series chronicles the tensions, loves, faiths, and challenges of the residents in the Amish community of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. In A Life of Joy, the fourth installment in the series, 18-year-old Lindsay Bedford has reached a crossroads. Should she stay in the small Amish community she's known and loved for four years or return to the "English" life of her hometown in Virginia?

Michelle Lantz dreams of marrying and starting a family, and now that she’s been dating Korey for more than a year, she thought it was only a matter of time before he proposed. But lately, Korey has seemed distant and is far from the attentive boyfriend she once knew. They’ve spent so much time together that she feels she can’t give up on their relationship, but she begins to question her own feelings as his seem to cool.

Diet culture is a system of oppression that values only certain types of bodies and equates thinness with health. It permeates American society and even lurks in our safest spaces, such as schools, medical offices, and places of worship. But when you begin to see its lies for what they are, you can fight back, build resilience and self-esteem, and trust your divine design.

Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features 80 Americans—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that begins with the book's title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to re-think not only what and how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

In spite of the hyper-connected culture we live in today, women still feel shamed for oversharing and being publicly vulnerable. And no matter how many friends we seem to have, many of us are still desperately lonely. Laura Tremaine, blogger and podcaster behind 10 Things to Tell You, says it's time for something better. Openness and vulnerability are the foundation for human growth and healthy relationships, and it all starts when we share our stuff, the nitty-gritty daily details about ourselves with others.

Pastor and scholar Patrick Henry Reardon travels through the Gospel narratives to discover the real Jesus, to see him through the eyes of those who knew him best—the apostles, his community, believers who vividly portrayed him in stories filtered through their own faith. Through these living, breathing accounts, we contemplate who God’s Son really was and is—and we understand how he came to redeem and sanctify every aspect of every human life.

God gave Israel the Year of Jubilee as a social reset. Taken together with Sabbath laws and gleaning laws (laws dealt with the harvest season), it was a way to celebrate God's gifts and put the pieces of a broken society back together again. These Old Testament economic ethics were highly practical laws with a theological vision that, if enacted, would set Israel apart as a just society in the midst of a cruel, greedy, and unjust world—not unlike our present day. José Humphreys and Adam Gustine take a close look at the economic ethics and practices of the Old Testament.

Passing on our faith does not happen passively—it’s something we intentionally pursue with prayer and joy. Yet many of us struggle to know what it looks like to live out a contagious faith in today’s world. We long for spiritual wisdom on how to ignite faith in our children, grandchildren, and others we encounter.

In Believing Jesus, Bible teacher and author Lisa Harper retraces the steps of the apostles in the book of Acts, while throwing in a few of her own crazy adventures along the way. The disciples didn’t have much of a road map after Jesus ascended to heaven, but God’s grace and spirit filled in the gaps as they moved forward. It required their willingness to risk everything to establish a new community that would change the future world.

Hasan Makari and his son, Najib, both Lebanese nationals, have dreamed of the day they would experience the shining freedom of America. But when they arrive in the US, they are arrested, accused of terrorism, and incarcerated at the Guantánamo Bay Prison Camp in Cuba, all on false charges. Suddenly, they face the nightmare of death by execution. Their only hope is Navy JAG Officer Matt Davis, who has been assigned to the case of his life - to defend the Makaris in court at Guantánamo Bay.

Humility, or holding power loosely for the sake of others, is sorely lacking in today's world. Without it, many people fail to develop their true leadership potential and miss out on genuine fulfillment in their lives and their relationships. Speaker and historian John Dickson shows how the virtue of humility was an important character trait for the "greats" of history and figures prominently in the findings of psychology and sociology.

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.

They've helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now 12 new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection. An owner of a Victorian inn and charming rustic barn is used to creating the perfect setting for other couples' nuptials. But when she falls head over heels for the new man in her life, will she be prepared to walk down that aisle?

Our Bridegroom is coming! When you at long last meet Him face to face, will you be pleasing to Him? This 21-day challenge from beloved Bible teacher Anne Graham Lotz and her daughter Rachel-Ruth offers timeless inspiration to help ensure you are fully prepared for that crucial moment.

The essence of a true soulmate relationship is that of deep spiritual connection and a shared commitment to God. Learn to enrich your inner lives while building a strong foundation for a lasting marriage as you focus on basics of love, prayer, Bible study, forgiveness, and more. Relationship experts and authors Ben Young and Samuel Adams give user-friendly tips for nurturing your personal walk with God and enhancing your spiritual connection as a couple through in this 9-week devotional.

When the Mast family is forced to evacuate their home in the West Kootenai region of Montana, Christine chooses not to move with her family to her father’s childhood home in Kansas. Instead, she wants to stay closer to home and to her beau, Andy Lambright, who has yet to ask for her hand in marriage and who seems to be holding tightly to secrets from his past. Now, living with her aunt and uncle in St. Ignatius, Christine is on her own for the first time in her life.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

At the age of sixteen, Ian Morgan Cron was told by his mother that his father, a motion picture executive, worked with the CIA in Europe. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggle with alcoholism, upended the world of a teenager struggling to become a man. Born into a family of privilege and power, Ian's life is populated with colorful people and stories as his father takes the family on a wild roller-coaster ride through wealth and poverty and back again.

Lieutenant Tom Hudner and Ensign Jesse Brown, both Navy pilots during the Korean War in 1950, come from different backgrounds: Hudner is a white New Englander, a son of privilege; Brown is an African American son of a sharecropper from Mississippi. When the two men join forces in Fighter Squadron 32, they forge a deep friendship at a time when racial inequality was prevalent in America.

Patrick Morley, a leader in the Christian men’s movement, offers motivation and inspiration to help men put Christ first in their lives. The 75 short readings depict practical daily life challenges of men in their jobs, their finances, and their relationships.