Spiritual Biography

On her journey to near stardom in the music business, Monica Madrid wound up a broke, demoralized alcoholic. Through the twists and turns of a colorful life, she rubbed elbows with Prince, Rick James, and other artists and was in a musical battle with Tupac Shakur. She came close to fulfilling her childhood dream, but once it was stripped from her grasp, her path led to money, prestige - and broken relationships. Monica's story is one of loss, love, and redemption.

Do we have anything in common with the bad guys of the Bible? The sins of wrath, idolatry, and abuse of power are closer to us than we think. How do we guard against them? We learn not only by following moral exemplars; we also need to look at the warnings of lives gone wrong. In this fictionalized narrative, JR. Forasteros reintroduces us to some of the most villainous characters of Scripture. He shows us what we can learn from their negative examples, with figures such as Cain, Jezebel, and even Satan serving as cautionary tales of sin and temptation.

If you want to appreciate life to the fullest, this unabridged audio download of A Positive Life reveals nine basic yet powerful lessons for living with passionate faith and joy. Through his story of living with HIV, Shane Stanford will help you find contentment in your own life, no matter the circumstances.

Can you find faith in an episode of "Friends"? Can Adam Sandler teach us about the love of God? Can Kermit the Frog and Alanis Morissette teach us about prayer? Can Harry Potter help save us? Jesuit Father Mark Mossa says yes! Fr. Mossa has served as a minister for young adults in various parts of the northeast and southern U.S. He currently teaches theology at Fordham University in New York City.

Learning My Name is the harrowing chronicle of a fearful prodigal putting family relationships on the line as he learns to trust the love of both his dad and his heavenly Father for the sake of putting neurotic, addictive thinking to rest. This book is more than the author's story; it is the story of humanitys interaction with God.

At age 21, Andrea Palpant Dilley stripped the Christian fish decal off her car bumper in a symbolic act of departure from her religious childhood. At 23, she left the church and went searching for refuge in the company of men who left her lonely and friends who pushed the boundaries of what she once held sacred. In this deeply personal memoir, Andrea navigates the doubts that plague believers and skeptics alike: Why does a good God allow suffering? Why is God so silent, distant, and uninvolved? And why does the church seem so dysfunctional?

The author of My Beautiful Idol is on a quest to be successful - in a lucrative job at an advertising agency, in ministry work, even in his relationships. And in a futile attempt to control the sources of love and security, he has turned these things into idols he can keep in his soul's back pocket. He pulls the idols out when he feels vulnerable and defenseless, and hides them again when things are going well. But the idols keep failing - even when he turns to his own Christian faith.

Renee Altson's powerful, personal narrative details the evil done to her throughout her life---almost exclusively at the hands of the church---and how she struggles and stumbles toward faith despite her ordeal.

At the age of eight, Chad Gibbs attended his first Southeastern Conference football game. Since then he has been in a constant battle to not let his love of all things pigskin consume him. As a Christian, Gibbs knows he cannot serve two masters, but at times his faith is overwhelmed by his fanaticism. He is not alone. In 2008 over six million people attended an SEC football game.

In this unabridged audio edition— Love Mercy: A Mother and Daughter's Journey from the American Dream to the Kingdom of God—Christy award-winning novelist Lisa Samson and her daughter, Ty, experience a life-changing, soul-rattling journey on a mission trip to Africa. Confronted face-to-face with the AIDS crisis, poverty, prostitution, and illness, Lisa and Ty find something else as well: Christ’s love and redemption ablaze.

This is the true story of Ora-Jay and Irene Eash, Amish farmers from northwest Montana whose lives changed in an instant when a semi-truck struck the family buggy, killing their two young daughters. After the accident, the couple turned to their Amish community for comfort, but they remained haunted by the thought that they might not see their girls again in heaven. Would their deeds be good enough?

Author Paul Richardson draws on stories from his life as a change specialist in the world’s largest Muslim country to explore what causes us to be deactivated—pinned down under life’s fluctuating circumstances, personal apathy, and disappointment. In A Certain Risk, Richardson will inspire you to engage the complexities of your world with creative solutions—creativity that comes straight from the heart of the Creator.

Stumbling on Open Ground steps away from the pattern of other cancer books, Christian or secular, and attempts to tackle the question of how you can doubt a God that you do not doubt. It's about having trouble believing what is going on when you believe God knows what he is doing at all times. It is about questioning what is happening when you know where all the questions are answered.

On March, 13, 2013, 115 cardinals elected for the first time a pope from outside of Europe. Pope Francis, a native of Argentina, is not just the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere; he is also the first Jesuit to ever hold the Chair of Peter. Now, a leading expert on the papacy provides the ultimate introduction to this new pope, including biographical information and an absorbing collection of Jorge Mario Bergoglio's most persuasive words.

Theodore Roosevelt is well-known as a rancher, hunter, naturalist, soldier, historian, explorer, and statesman. While Roosevelt's life has been written about from many angles, no modern book probes deeply into his engagement with religious beliefs, practices, and controversies despite his lifelong church attendance and commentary on religious issues. Theodore Roosevelt: Preaching from the Bully Pulpit traces Roosevelt's personal religious odyssey from youthful faith and pious devotion to a sincere but more detached adult faith.

The remarkable true story of the miraculous journey that made the Dalai Lama into the man he is today and sparked the fight for Tibetan freedom. In the early weeks of 1959, a bloody uprising gripped the streets of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa as ragtag Tibetan rebels faced off against their Communist Chinese occupiers. Realizing that the impending battle would result in a bloodbath and his own capture, the young Dalai Lama began planning an audacious escape to India, a two-week journey.

Thelma Nicholls was born into a poor family in Jamaica. Molested by her father, she left home as soon as she could. Journey with Thelma as she rises above her humble beginnings to become a major as an army nurse, and finds peace, joy, and forgiveness along the way.

Ron Frazier’s rescue dog, Gracie, changed his life and his spirit. As an adored member of his pack, she taught him valuable life lessons, patience, and how to love unconditionally. But as she neared the end of her earthly life, Ron had no idea of the signals, signs, and spiritual events that were about to take place and the impact they would have on his life from that point forward.

Jesus lived the stretched-out life so that you and I can have the incredible gift of sweet salvation in Him. The Stretched-out life is a life of submission and subjection to our Creator God, who knows our end from our beginning. It's about treading the narrow path of pain, promise, and purpose. It looks like an unpaved road of sacrifice, strength, and sorrow filled with uncertainty, but there is peace amid the storm.

This was my assignment: to write everything down without adding or removing a single detail, so that you will believe that Jesus Christ is real, and He exists. I'm not a miracle worker, nor have I been anointed with some supernatural power to convince you, but I know that my testimony about Jesus Christ is true.