Personal Spiritual Growth

What does it take to raise great kids? If you've read any books on parenting, conflicting opinions have probably left you feeling confused. Get tough! Show acceptance. Lay down the rules. Lighten up, already! There's got to be a balance - and there is. Joining their expertise with the wisdom of MOPS International (Mothers of Preschoolers), Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend help you provide both the care and acceptance that make grace real to your child and the firmness and discipline that give direction.

In our frenzied culture, the possibility of living in balanced rhythms of work and rest often feels elusive. This rings especially true for pastors and leaders who carry the weight of nonstop responsibility. Most know they need rest but might be surprised to find within themselves a deep resistance to letting go and resting in God one day a week, let alone for longer seasons of sabbatical.

Ask successful women what they want from their money and they'll tell you: independence, security, choices, a better world, and - oh yes - way less stress, not just for themselves but for their kids, partners, parents, and friends. Through a series of Happy Hour discussions (when money is the topic, wine helps) and one-on-one conversations, Jean Chatzky gets women to open up about the one topic we still never talk about. Then she flips the script and charts a pathway to this joyful, purpose-filled life that today's women not only want but also, finally, have the resources to afford.

Nearly every marriage starts out happy, and if we're honest, nearly every marriage at some point becomes unhappy. Is there a solution? Kevin and Marcia Myers, married for 37 years through nearly every challenge a couple can face, emphatically say yes. Rooted in Scripture and contemporary insights from the Myers' marriage, as well as real stories from other couples, this revelatory book shows how any marriage can regain depth, meaning and, yes, happiness.

The son of a preacher, 18-year-old Tim Timberlake learned to appreciate the extraordinary value and gift of each minute of every day the hard way through the tragic and sudden loss of his father. Tim began a journey to not just get through each day, but to exhaust every opportunity of potential of that day, moment by moment, fulfilling his God-given purpose. Now a pastor himself, Tim inspires others to approach each day in a way that they live out their own God-given purposes and passions.

In this groundbreaking book, New York Times best-selling author and Hollywood producer DeVon Franklin dishes the real truth about men by making the compelling case that men aren’t dogs, but all men share the same struggle. He uses the metaphor of a dog that needs training as a way to explore why behavior persists in men that can lead them to act against their vows, their integrity, and even their character.

Explore the spiritual dynamics of parenting, and why caring for children is such an effective discipline in shaping our souls and forming the character of Christ within us.

Single? Looking for the "right person"? Thinking that if you met the "right person" everything would turn out "right"? Think again. In The New Rules for Love, Sex, and Dating, pastor and best-selling author Andy Stanley explores the challenges, assumptions, and land mines associated with dating in the 21st century. Not for the faint of heart, this practical and uncensored guide takes a fresh approach to dating and love in the modern era by turning the search for "the one" or "Mr./Mrs. Right" back onto the searcher themselves.

Step into your unique calling in life by embracing your God-given identity. In Your Purpose Is Calling, Dr. Dharius Daniels shows you how God created you to make your specific difference in this world and how the simple key to unlocking your fullest potential lives within you already—your identity in Christ.

Author Mac Barron assures us that Jesus loves us, even though we're human. We know this, because the Bible says so. Over and over and over again. With its hilarious, sometimes irreverent, and always humble reflections, this book will make you laugh and help you look at the Bible - and yourself - in a whole new way.

The Western world is in a crisis of discarded honor, dubious integrity, and faux manliness. It is time to recover what we have lost. Stephen Mansfield shows us the way. Working with timeless maxims and stirring examples of manhood from ages past, Mansfield issues a trumpet call of manliness fit for our times.

Some of the most effective talk therapy is self-talk therapy - learning to connect positively with that internal voice that serves as your own personal GPS to guide you through life. Rabbi Shmuley teaches the reader to reconnect with the inner voice of conscience, the source of personal dreams and values, which has been so drowned out by the noise of a culture that emphasizes form over substance, career over calling, and consumption over conviction. Drawing on Rabbi Shmuley's extensive counseling experience, this book helps you defeat negative self-talk.

A seasoned journalist chases down the biggest story in history. The Project: Determine if there's credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God. The Reporter: Lee Strobel, educated at Yale Law School, award-winning former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune - with a background of atheism. The Experts: A dozen scholars, with doctorates from Cambridge, Princeton, Brandeis, and other top-flight institutions, who are recognized authorities on Jesus.

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).

You already have what it takes to finish well! Christians were never meant to “just get by”. You were created to rise above adversity and display greatness! In this compelling audio book, best-selling author John Bevere explores what it takes to finish well. More than a strategy for survival, Relentless offers you a fresh new mind-set, one that enthusiastically declares with the apostle Paul, “I delight in difficulties.” Its biblically grounded truths will equip you to flourish in every season of life.

Many believers have backslid. Some have turned away completely while others have turned away only in small degrees. Many will honestly say, "I have lost that love which I first had for the Lord". Many are prepared to say that, but they are not willing to take radical steps to put things right. They see the need to repent; they desire to repent, but they do not repent, for they do not pay the price of repentance.

God finds ways to reach out to us every day, offering a lifetime partnership filled with guidance on everything from major life issues to small, ordinary problems. The question is, are you listening?

Signs are meant to point us toward something: Jesus. Story in the Stars takes an in-depth look at the Bible and all the signs God mapped out through constellations, planets, and even the way the Earth is tilted. We are uniquely designed by God, and he loves us so much that he ensured a way for all inhabitants of the Earth, through all of time, to see the messages of salvation and redemption that he painted in the stars.

One of the church's primary responsibilities is to foster genuine spiritual growth in people's lives. Today's pastors bring tremendous effort and passion to this task, but they are often disappointed by people who sit in the pews for years, knowing about Jesus but never really knowing him. In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago undertook a three-year study to measure spiritual growth called the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Over the next six years, additional data was collected from over a quarter million people in well over a thousand churches of every size....

In Contagious Faith, best-selling author and teacher Mark Mittelberg introduces five approaches to evangelism and helps you determine which of them fit best with your unique personality and style. He also explains in a down-to-earth fashion several key skills that will help you talk about Jesus effectively, illustrating his message with real-life accounts of ordinary believers who applied these principles for extraordinary impact.