Spiritual Grief

After miraculously surviving a near-fatal brainstem stroke at age 26, as told in their memoir, Hope Heals, life for Katherine and Jay Wolf changed forever - and so did the way they viewed God, the world, and themselves in it. There was no going back to normal after such a tragedy. Yet Katherine and Jay learned that suffering is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new story. In Suffer Strong, they invite us into this new story as they share universal lessons and helpful practices.

An inspirational classic for more than thirty years, Where Is God When It Hurts? honestly explores pain—from physical wounds to emotional and spiritual pain—and sheds new light on God's presence in our suffering.

With vulnerability and honesty, Jerry Sittser walks through his own grief and loss to show that new life is possible - one marked by spiritual depth, joy, compassion, and a deeper appreciation of simple and ordinary gifts. This 25th anniversary edition features a new introduction and two additional chapters, one which provides help for pastors and counselors.

If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it can feel to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. Far too often, it seems the response we get to our hurt and disappointment is to suck it up or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be.

What does it feel like to come back from something hard, to be able to hope again? Hard things are a part of life. Yet they don’t have to have the final word. They can become the keys to our greatest usability in the kingdom of God - that is, if we let God make good of them, rather than running away and refusing the growth we truly crave. Written for those who desperately want to move forward, The Hard Good gives voice to the hard places we all have lived and Lisa’s clear directions as to where to go next.

What if you could use cancer to evolve more fully into love? David Maginley has been there - four times. His cancer led to a near-death experience and a career helping thousands face this disease. Through profound storytelling, David brings you to the core of the cancer journey to discover the hero within.

A unique and intimate exploration of how suffering, spiritual formation, and interpersonal neurobiology intersect, The Deepest Place by award-winning author Curt Thompson shows us how it's not through the absence of grief but in the presence of it that we discover the joy of vulnerable community and a deeper sense of God's abundant love.

Why would a loving and powerful God allow so much pain and suffering? In Why Suffering? Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale carefully walk you through a variety of responses that considered together provide a clear, comprehensive, and convincing answer.

Blending firsthand accounts of tragedy with opportunity for raw self-examination and reflection, Vleisides delves into the realm of spirituality and belief amid loss and despair. For the "spiritual but not religious", who want to pursue God outside the walls of organized religion, Used to Go to Church is an invitation to rethink faith and open up to a life centered on grace, mercy, and love.

Katherine Clark was just an average wife and mother with two young children when she was in a tragic playground accident in late May 2009. A little boy playing on the jungle gym jumped and landed on Kate’s head, knocking her over and snapping her neck. Kate was paralyzed from the neck down. The doctors diagnosed her with quadriplegia and said she would never walk again. This terrifying prognosis could have been the end of the story. But instead, God chose to work a profound miracle in Kate’s life and in the life of her family.

More than 1.5 million copies sold! What if you discovered that the life you already have is the life you’ve always wanted? What if joy is possible right where you are? New York Times best-selling author Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative journey of chronicling God's gifts. How can you find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and even the death of loved ones? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long, and sometimes even dark? How is God even here?

After years of research, Randy Alcorn offers answers to common questions about what heaven will be like. His answers will surprise listeners, stretch their thinking about this important subject, and inspire them to long for heaven while living on earth.

In Divine Disruption, Dr. Tony Evans and his children pull back the curtain on their faith-shaking experiences, in order to provide biblical wisdom and practical encouragement for how to deal with the hard, unexpected things we all inevitably face.

Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story’s life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same. Yes, with God all things are possible. But the devastating news was that no cure existed to restore Martin’s short-term memory, eyesight, and other complications. The fairy-tale life Laura had dreamed of was no longer possible. And yet in struggling with God about how to live with broken dreams, Laura has found joy and a deeper intimacy with Jesus.

Frederick Buechner has grappled with the nature of pain, grief, and grace ever since his father committed suicide when Buechner was a young boy. He continued that search as a father when his daughter struggled with anorexia. In this essential collection of essays, including one never before published, Frederick Buechner finds that the God who might seem so silent is ever near. He writes about what it means to be a steward of our pain, and about this grace from God that seems arbitrary and yet draws us to his holiness and care.

Though suffering often leaves us feeling isolated, God invites us into the community of the Trinity and offers us many companions in scripture. We experience loneliness alongside the exiled Israelites. We journey with David as he pleads to God for rescue. With Asaph we confess our unbelief. With Job we learn to lament. With Mary and Martha we learn to wait. In God's community, there is sweet fellowship, even in the hardest of circumstances. Journey in this book with Wendy Alsup through her story of suffering, and more importantly, with the God who walks with us in the wilderness.

What will heaven be like? Randy Alcorn presents a thoroughly biblical answer, based on years of careful study, presented in an engaging, listener-friendly style. His conclusions will surprise readers and stretch their thinking about this important subject. Heaven will inspire readers to long for heaven while they're living on earth.

Renew your appreciation for the breathtaking beauty that surrounds us in life's simplest details. Encouraging you to reflect even deeper on the concepts explored in her bestselling book One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp offers sixty wisdom-soaked devotions, complete with scriptures, prayers, and reflection questions.

Dr. Chauncey Crandall knows his patients well. When they are dying, he sits at the bedside with them and holds their hands. He prays with them. Sometimes he can feel what they feel and see what they see. At other times his patients have near-death experiences and "come back" with astonishing descriptions of the afterlife.

Timeless encouragement for the challenges of life. Derek Prince, one of the 20th century's most trusted Bible teachers, invites you to face some of your most difficult circumstances head-on with hope. In Why Bad Things Happen to God's People, Prince shares timeless truths from the Book of Job that will keep you anchored during any storm.