Life Growth

When we think of self-improvement, our minds often turn to dieting, exercise, or productivity hacks. But without understanding how the mind works, these improvements are unlikely to stick. In The Brain Change Program, Dr. Alan Weissenbacher merges neuroscience with biblical wisdom and leads you through his six-step program to achieve lasting, meaningful change.

“I want to believe, I want to have hope, but....” Pastor and author Craig Groeschel hears these words often and has asked them himself. We want to know God, feel his presence, and trust that he hears our prayers, but in the midst of great pain, we may wonder if he really cares about us. Even when we have both hope and hurt, sometimes it’s the hurt that shouts the loudest. Can God be good when life is not? You long to know that even in overwhelming reality, you can still believe that God is good.

All of us encounter valleys on our journey with the Lord—those periods of spiritual desolation that are a painful yet unavoidable feature of our prayer life. Spiritual desolation is as complex as we are, so understanding what is happening and responding to it properly are critical to reaching the heights of holiness. With warmth and understanding, Fr. Gallagher carefully identifies in this book the various forms of spiritual and nonspiritual desolation and supplies the remedy for each.

Most of us have been on the receiving end of rejection, a broken dream, or heartbreak. And while this is not an easy space to go through, when we are grounded in the truth, we can endure the tough times.

Demons have come to kill, steal, and destroy. They take possession of lives, oppress believers and wreak havoc on the plans of God for His people. Could they be the source of YOUR struggles? Jesus did not say to counsel demons out or to medicate them out; He said, “Cast them out!” Every day, we give demons too much power when in fact, Jesus has given us authority to bind them and command them to leave.

Everything in your Christian life is built on the way you view God’s word. It shapes your relationship with God. It influences your faith. It determines what you will or won’t receive from heaven. If Satan can attack God’s word and get you to doubt it, the foundation of your faith will crack. But when you build your life on the unshakable truth of God’s word, all things are possible

Nearly everyone wants to go to heaven when they die. Nearly everyone assumes they will go there. And yet the Bible paints a picture of the "road that leads to eternal life" being found and traveled by few. Careful students of the Scriptures often find themselves wondering, How can I be sure of my salvation? Veteran Bible teacher Donald S. Whitney guides us carefully and patiently through the Bible's teachings on salvation and eternal life - steering us clear of misplaced confidence and pointing us always toward Christ, our hope.

The Gospel costs nothing. You can't earn it or buy it. It can only be received as a free gift compliments of God's grace. It doesn't cost anything, but it demands everything. It demands that we go "all in," a term that simply means placing all that you have into God's hands. Pushing it all in. And that's where we get stuck - spiritual no man's land. We're afraid that if we go all in that we might miss out on what this life has to offer. It's not true. The only thing you'll miss out on is everything God has to offer.

T.D. Jakes doesn't just preach to his listeners, he gives them the psychological and practical tools that they need to realize their faith in their lives. Clear-sighted, realistic, and spiritually uplifting, Making Great Decisions is one of those rare books that can change lives. "Remember," writes T.D. Jakes, "your tomorrow is no better than the decisions you make today."

Tired of living half a life - or even a waking nightmare? Struggling to find meaning in a job you don't like? Facing graduation or midlife changes in a faltering economy? Wishing you could rekindle a dream you gave up long ago? It's time to get your vision checked! In this practical, energizing guide, pastor and author Craig Groeschel shows how to live life fully by finding, naming, and achieving your unique God-given goal.

Leaders are buckling under the pressure of tremendous hardship. Could you be next? No matter how difficult, daunting, or despairing life gets, it doesn't have to take you down. In this place of unthinkable hardship, the Lord breaks us to make us better, humbles us to build us up, and burdens us to make us stronger, forming in and through us something more than we could ever imagine.

Why do kids need to know about growth mindsets? Scientists have found that there are two different kinds of mindsets: fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. A fixed mindset never changes. In a fixed mindset your failures define you like: "I'm no good at dancing." If I never learn new things or never make new friends, I have a fixed mindset. My growth mindsets can change! When I learn something new or challenging, then I have a growth mindset like: "If I focus and practice, I can learn to dance."

What difference does it make that Jesus was Jewish? In this unabridged audio download of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg challenges listeners to follow their Rabbi more closely by reexamining his words in the light of their Jewish context. Doing so will provide a richer, deeper understanding of his ministry, compelling us to live differently, to become more Christ-like. We'll begin to understand why his first Jewish disciples abandoned everything to follow him, to live out his commands.

World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices.

Do It Scared, by popular blogger and podcast host Ruth Soukup, is the essential handbook for any woman who has ever felt like she is sitting on the sidelines of her own life and is finally ready to jump in, dream big, and go after her goals. Equal parts inspiration and tough love, Do It Scared combines easy-to-implement tips with the motivation to start making real changes that lead to big results.

There are times when looking back helps to fuel our future. Looking back at the life of evangelist Maria Woodworth-Etter, you will be emboldened by the truth that nothing is impossible to the believer who surrenders to God. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Maria Woodworth-Etter, the grandmother of the Pentecostal movement, astounded many Americans as she traveled across the country holding revivals. At these meetings, the worst sinners in the town were saved, the most diseased were healed, and her biggest critics were proven wrong.

Fasting is an important key to successful Christian living. It is found throughout the Bible, yet it has been largely set aside by the church. Discover how to release the power of prayer and fasting in your life with this handbook by Derek Prince. In his clear, easily understood teaching style, he explains that this power is immeasurable when fasting is practiced with right motives and in accordance with the principles of Scripture.

What is spiritual direction and my spiritual direction? What are my "blind spots" and how can I uncover them? What keeps me from all the spiritual riches Christ has for me? How can I better understand where I am in my spiritual progress? Daniel Burke's Navigating the Interior Life will give you the tools you need to understand how and why we grow and die in the spiritual life and what we can do about it.

Dr. Bill Winston, broadcast nationwide in over 100 million homes on the Believers Walk of Faith program, helps believers renovate their thought life by focusing on who they are in Christ, building success in every area of living. In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul encourages believers to be transformed by renewing their mind. The Greek word for transformed is metamorphosis; or "to change." Dr. Winston reveals that believers must believe what God says about them and their situations, more than what their circumstances say.

God has promised us miracles. Are you willing to do what it takes to see them through? We all desire the favor of God on our lives. We eagerly pray and hope for his miracles, promises, and blessings. But carrying the promises of God often means being stretched, being inconvenienced, and being patient to nourish those promises until it is God's time for them to be born.