Spiritual Biography

Born and raised in a small Oregon town, all-American girl Rebecca Bender was a varsity athlete and honor-roll student with a promising future. Then a predator pretending to be her boyfriend lured her into a web of lies that sent her down a path she never imagined possible. For nearly six years, Rebecca was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. She was branded, beaten, told when to sleep and what to wear, and traded between traffickers. During that time, God began revealing himself to her.

If you are longing to experience God more than the shame or hurts of your past, the pressures of your present, or the fear of your future, Brave Surrender offers a soul-healing path forward. As Kim learned in her own life, the first step - and the bravest step - is letting go. Once we let go of anything that gets between us and God, we are freed to take hold of the life that truly matters.

Raised as an atheist, Sara Miles lived an enthusiastically secular life as a restaurant cook and a writer. Then early one winter morning, for no earthly reason, she wandered into a church. "I was certainly not interested in becoming a Christian," she writes, "or, as I thought of it rather less politely, a religious nut." But she ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine, and found herself radically transformed.

When Ernest Gordon was 24 he was captured by the Japanese and forced, with other British prisoners, to build the notorious "Railroad of Death", where nearly 16,000 prisoners of war gave their life. Faced with the appalling conditions of the prisoners' camp and the brutality of the captors, he survived to become an inspiring example of the triumph of the human spirit against all odds.

Once upon a time, a successful storyteller lost his voice to throat cancer. Deprived of the instrument of his art and his livelihood, he retreated into dark, sullen silence and depression. While searching for a spiritual explanation, he encountered his former mentor, a cantankerous and often drunken old man. Their meetings began a journey into the timeless wisdom of ancient tales: of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses, buried treasures, and ultimately the secret of happiness.

In this in-depth biblical biography, Beth Moore takes you on an intimate, exciting journey through virtually every astonishing episode of David's remarkable life. From shepherd, to refugee, to king of Israel, David exhibited the purest virtues and the most heinous sinfulness. But through it all, his relationship with the Lord continued to grow.

DEMENTIA and OUR LOVE, Caregiving as spiritual practice, is the story of Gary and Heather's love that sustained them through an unusual and courageous life across continents, including tending Gary and his onset of dementia at 73 years. The story helped them remember their love and use this energy to move through the hard times. We will always remember us this way, a song by Lady Gaga, was pivotal in keeping Heathers focus.

This honest book will help you discover a different Jesus from the flannelgraph Sunday school figure, the sweetly smiling Victorian Savior, and all the cultural clichés that have tamed Jesus and kept him in comfortable religious boxes. Philip Yancey cuts through existing views and preconceptions of Jesus - citing opinions from church history, modern history, and popular culture; discussing how different people and cultures view Jesus; dissecting popular quotes about Jesus; and much more - and he offers a more accurate perspective by pointing us back to the Bible.

Born the unwanted third daughter, Esther Ahmad grew up Muslim in Pakistan. Her faith and country drove every aspect of her first 18 years, from what she wore and what she ate to her prospects for work and marriage, even to the manner of her death. Unveiled chronicles Esther’s conversion to Christianity and her escape from radical Islam. Chapter by chapter, Esther lays out the lies of the Qur’an and holds them against the truths she found in the Bible.

Through these stories, Shannon explains the intimate connection between faith and family—and how God’s unexpected agenda can redefine the way we think about family. Not all of these mothers and daughters in the Bible were paragons of virtue. Like us, they were human beings who faltered and struggled to do their best. While some heard God’s voice, others chose their own paths. Through the lens of their imperfections, we can see how God used their stories to bring about His divine plans. He’s still doing the same work in our lives today.

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history, credits her Christian faith as the steady anchor amid life’s trials and triumphs. With intimate stories about her remarkable life, The Faith of Queen Elizabeth by Dudley Delffs explores the personal beliefs, private struggles, and public service behind the crown.

In this book, Joni unveils the God whom she has found to be faithful through over 30 years as a paralytic. This is not the story of a woman who has all the answers or who is very different from you. Joni struggles with the same fears, questions, and heartaches we all have in common. But as the weeks and months turn into years and the years into decades, she meets her Savior at every turn.

7 1/2 Decades & 75 Reasons to Trust JESUS combines narratives of each decade of Richard Coe's life with reasons to trust JESUS. It is more than a glimpse into the deeper aspects of Richard Coe's life. The book depicts an inspiring journey. It is not only a story of stages in Richard's life. It depicts Christ at work. Richard wanted to know Christ better and Christ revealed more of Himself.

For decades, Kathie Lee has had deep conversations about her faith with anyone who is interested in talking about it. What she discovered early on is most people are very willing to talk about Jesus: atheists, agnostics, Scientologists, Jews, broken-hearted Catholics, confused Baptists, Pentecostals, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Hindus alike. While some of the people Kathie Lee has spoken with do not share her belief that Jesus is the Messiah - as prophesied for centuries by prophets in the Hebrew scriptures - they nonetheless have a universal fascination with him.

Despite his deep desire to overcome mental illness and lead others out of their own pain, pastor Andrew Stoecklein died by suicide at the age of 30. In the wake of the tragedy, his widow, Kayla, embarked on a journey to better understand Andrew’s harrowing battle, come alongside those with similar struggles, and help the church overcome the stigma of suicide.

Thirty-five years of following in the footsteps of Charles de Foucauld color little sister Kathleen’s portrayal of the man and his message. Rather than relying too heavily on Charles de Foucauld's spiritual writings, little sister Kathleen draws on fresh material taken from his correspondence and diaries to set out his legacy for those who live in the deserts of the modern world, reminding us that at the heart of the Christian adventure is friendship with Jesus of Nazareth.

A Prairie Girl's Faith provides the first extended, in depth discussion of the Christian faith of one of America's most beloved pioneer women - Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although the faith of the Ingalls' family pervades books in the Little House series, the more specific details of Laura's faith have never been fully explored. It took extraordinary pluck for anyone to survive the harshness of frontier life - from the heartbreak of sudden crop losses to murderous storms to unrelenting loneliness.

The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers focuses on Mr. Rogers' spiritual legacy, but it is much more than that. It shows us a man who, to paraphrase the words of St. Francis of Assisi, "preached the gospel at all times; when necessary he used words".

From a stranger in a casting office predicting Matt would succeed at a time when he felt like giving up, to deciding to work with Tim Allen after vowing not to work with another comedian after Roseanne, to learning what love really meant after “Spirit” told him he would marry Angelina—Williams realized that these “glimpses of God” have served as the loving, quiet providence that watched over him. Our job, then, is to pay attention to our lives. Regardless of your beliefs Glimpses will inspire you to look for and find God in your daily life.

The little mountain hamlet of Bryson City, North Carolina, offers more than dazzling vistas. For Walt Larimore, a young "flatlander" physician setting up his first practice, the town presents its peculiar challenges as well. With the winsomeness of a James Herriott book, Bryson City Tales sweeps you into a world of colorful characters, the texture of Smoky Mountain life, and the warmth, humor, quirks, and struggles of a small country town.