Personal Ministries

Significant events such as birth, marriage, and death are milestones in our lives in which we experience our greatest happiness and our deepest grief. And so it is profoundly important to understand how to approach and experience these occasions with grace, endurance, and joy. In a culture that does its best to deny death, Timothy Keller - theologian and best-selling author - teaches us about facing death with the resources of faith from the Bible. With wisdom and compassion, Keller finds in the Bible an alternative to both despair or denial.

Wait! Stop! Don't say it! Pegues knows how easily a few careless words can cause problems in our business and personal relationships. Here she offers 30 warm-hearted Scripture-based devotions to help you take control of that hasty, gossiping, belittling, know-it-all, retaliatory tongue . . . before you really put your foot in your mouth!

Only when you and your mate know and respect each other's needs, choices, and freedom can you give yourselves freely and lovingly to one another. Boundaries are the "property lines" that define and protect husbands and wives as individuals. Once they are in place, a good marriage can become better, and a less-than-satisfying one can even be saved. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, counselors and authors of the award-winning best seller Boundaries, show couples how to apply the 10 laws of boundaries that can make a real difference in relationships.

As Jeremy and Audrey write, if you can fall into love, you can fall out. True love is something you choose to live out each day through your actions, decisions, and sacrifices. To find and still seek, now that is love. From the moment you meet your potential spouse, you can be intentional about shaping a beautiful love story, uniquely written for who God created you both to be.

This book combines professional insights along with the author's own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when confronted with tragedy and suffering.

Mark Bouman recounts the events of his childhood at the hands of his larger-than-life, neo-Nazi father in brilliant, startling detail. From adventure-filled days complete with real-life war games, artillery fire, and tank races to terror-filled nights marked by vicious tirades, brutal beatings, and psychological torture, Mark paints a chilling portrait of family life that is at once whimsical and horrific - all building to a shocking climax that challenges even the broadest boundaries of love and forgiveness.

In the age of fingertip access to answers and a limitless supply of ambitions, where do we find the God who was birthed in dirt and straw? Sara Hagerty found him when life stopped working for her. She found him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a new bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch. In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty masterfully draws from the narrative of her life to craft a mosaic of a God who leans into broken stories. Here readers see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, they see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well.

In an age of mounting credit debt, get-rich-quick schemes, and high unemployment, many people are left wondering, "Why am I always struggling with finances? Why can't I seem to get ahead?" While the market is flooded with short-term help, few resources address the root spiritual problems behind money. In a warm, conversational style, CFO and CPA firm owner Stephen K. De Silva offers a unique, prophetic/supernatural approach to handling money.

For mothers of young children, this audiobook is a lovely offering of hope, truth, freedom, wild grace, friendship, and the knowledge that they are not alone. Many moms have dreamed of life with children, and yet the reality seems far away from their dreams. Their hearts are committed, but their spirits are sagging. This audiobook is a coffee-talk from one woman who is still “figuring-it-out-in-the-mess” (Sarah Mae) and much-needed counsel from one who is older and wiser (Sally Clarkson).

What is transgender and gender fluidity? What does God's word actually say about these issues? How can the gospel be good news for someone experiencing gender dysphoria? How should churches respond? This warm, faithful, and careful book helps Christians understand what the Bible says about gender identity. It will help us to engage lovingly, thoughtfully, and faithfully with one of the most explosive cultural discussions of our day. If you want to learn more and love better, and are open to considering what God has to say about sex and gender, this hope-filled book is for you.

Written in the same comedic style as the New York Times best sellers Sparkly Green Earrings and The Antelope in the Living Room, Nobody's Cuter Than You is a laugh-out-loud look at the special bond that exists between friends and a poignant celebration of all the extraordinary people God had the good sense to bring into our lives at exactly the right moments.

Self-control may be the least-coveted fruit of the Spirit. But the truth is that people who are successful at self-control have freer, happier lives, and we all want that. After all, our bad habits - from the slight to the serious - bring with them a host of negative emotions, take up our time, and keep us from being the best version of ourselves.

Good communication is essential in a good marriage. In this unique book, best-selling author and pastor John Hagee and his wife, Diana, present a husband's and wife's point of view on communicating more effectively. Designed as two books in one, John's What Every Man Wants in a Woman and Diana's What Every Woman Wants in a Man will bless couples married for years, young and newly married couples, and even singles.

Powerhouse social media influencer and online marketing and business development expert offers inspiration and hands-on tools for readers to follow their dreams and understand why not fitting in is their biggest asset. Bringing your whole, true self to your work, including your body, soul, and spirit - and allowing your faith to be part of your day in your workplace - lets you express your fullest potential and be as successful as possible in the world.

Did you know that spiritual, emotional, physical and relational exhaustion lead to anger? And unresolved anger leads to sin. All couples deal with anger and how they respond (stuff it, spew it or study it), can make all the difference in their relationship and in their lives. In From Anger to Intimacy, Gary Smalley and Ted Cunningham explore this often maligned and God-given emotion that unless dealt with can strip us of everything we love.

So many women are living overcommitted lives and buckling under the nagging guilt. When they are busy, they feel guilty for not playing with their kids or having a quiet time of prayer and Bible study. When they try to rest, they feel guilty because there's so much left to do. It's an endless cycle of overwork and exhaustion. Yet inside every woman's heart is a longing for true rest. It's there because God designed us that way - but it seems out of reach.

John Piper challenges fellow baby boomers to forego the American dream of retirement and live out their golden years with a far greater purpose in mind. They say it's a person's reward for all those years of labor. "Turn in your time card and trade in your IRAs. Let travel plans and golf-course leisure lead the way." But is retirement really the ideal? Or is it a series of poor options that ignore a greater purpose-and will kill a person more quickly than old age? John Piper responds,"Lord, spare me this curse!"

In Our Mothers, Ourselves, Henry Cloud and John Townsend show how understanding how our mothers have profoundly influenced our lives can set us on a path toward wholeness and growth. No one has influenced the person you are today like your mother. The way she handled your needs as a child has shaped your worldview, your relationships, your marriage, your career, your self-image - your life. Our Mothers, Ourselves can help you identify areas that need reshaping, to make positive choices for personal change, and to establish a mature relationship with Mom today.

A mismatch blessed by heaven... If your husband does not share your faith, you may feel like you are walking a tightrope of spiritual survival - guarding the flame of your belief in Christ, yet unable to share it with the person you love most in the world. But your spiritually mismatched marriage can be a vibrant, blessed relationship where you’re free to grow in love with God and your man!

Sometimes it seems we just can't get what we want. Circumstances thwart our best-laid plans. We struggle to live a heartfelt life. Worst of all, says Eldredge, the modern church mistakenly teaches its people to kill desire (calling it sin) and replace it with duty or obligation (calling it sanctification).