Showing results by publisher "christianaudio.com" in Relationships, Parenting & Personal Development

For years, I struggled with my self-image and how to make my dual pursuits of faith and fitness fit together. Maybe you can relate. Everything changed one day when I decided I was tired of looking in the mirror and started looking solely toward God. What he showed me is that true strength - physical, emotional, and spiritual - starts from the inside out. When you're staying connected to God, you'll find that eating well and exercising regularly will be so much easier. Your faith, food choices, and fitness will all just naturally flow together as part of your healthy and whole life.

Today's grandparent needs to understand technology - how it mesmerizes grandchildren but also enhances the opportunities to connect and share life experiences. And while many of the roles grandparents play in the lives of grandchildren have changed, their most important role of influencing with wisdom, faith, and fun remains the same. Author Chrys Howard addresses topics relevant to all grandparents and also looks at the challenges of grandchildren living in single parent or blended families.

Many powerful voices are influencing our grandchildren, from those at home and in their schools to those in the world of entertainment and media. What can you as a grandparent do to speak wisdom and godliness into their lives? Grandparenting gives you a biblical foundation for investing spiritually in your grandkids, walking you through the principles of influencing them for Christ - from sharing with unbelieving grandkids to discipling them into a mature faith. This book is perfect for individual use, small groups, or Sunday school classes.

Unexpected Blessings helps special-needs families move past the pain and confusion of their circumstances and slowly and firmly face the future with hope. Filled with real-life stories and hard-earned wisdom, this book shines a light on the possibilities and blessings that come when parents see their new purpose in life - which was God's purpose for them all along.

How would your life be different if you were just a bit happier every day for a year? What would you do to enjoy life just a little more day by day? Take your first step toward increased happiness with The Year of Living Happy: Finding Contentment and Connection in a Crazy World, by Alli Worthington.

Stepparenting with Grace offers a soothing salve and a holy nudge of daily encouragement for anyone navigating the unique dynamics of a blended family. These devotions provide companionship, encouragement, understanding, and biblical insights from a veteran stepmom. This trusted resource will help you gain strength, wisdom, and comfort as you navigate the rocky terrain of creating a blended family.

Crystal Stine followed the path to success as she climbed the corporate ladder. Now she explores "hustle" in a new light as a self-employed, work-from-home mom. She invites you to join her in experiencing renewed peace as you focus on serving, not striving, reawakened potential; as you ditch comparison and embrace community-redefined purpose; and as you seek the roles God has for you. You were created to work with enthusiasm for the right reasons - and you were also made with a need to rest. Discover the place where these two sides meet in a happy, holy hustle.

Are you exhausted? Women today really do feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. Every morning we are greeted with a long list of to-dos: get the kids up and out the door on time, have a meaningful quiet time, put in a full day at the office, spend an hour at the gym, prepare a healthy and delicious meal (organic and locally grown, of course), and make sure the sink sparkles before you go to bed. Oh, and don’t forget to look great and smile while you’re doing it.

Relationship expert Gary Smalley and his pastor and friend Ted Cunningham, show couples how to defuse the ticking time bomb of unrealistic expectations and arm their marriage with healthy communication and honest intimacy. As Long as We Both Shall Live will help couples acknowledge their unexpressed assumptions, understand one another's genuine needs and talk about their hopes and desires. Women and men will find the tools they need to build lasting and loving marriages.

Despite the horror of seeing 15-month-old Elizabeth slip away into autism, her mother knew that her bright little girl was still in there. When Elizabeth eventually learned to communicate, first by using a letterboard and later by typing, the poetry she wrote became proof of a glorious, life-affirming victory for this young girl and her family. I Am in Here is the spiritual journey of a mother and daughter who refuse to give up hope.

You may feel lonely, abandoned, overwhelmed, and ill-equipped in your life as a single mother, but you are not alone on this journey. God is with you, and if you are willing, he will help you build a strong home and legacy for your family. As a former single mother, Michelle Lynn Senters understands you could use a little soul nourishment. In The Unseen Companion, she explores the 10 needs every single mother has and asks, "God, where are you in this?"

All of us have found ourselves in situations where we don't know if we should bite our tongues or speak our minds. When is silence golden? When should you speak up? In this popular book, communication expert and former pastor Michael Sedler offers listeners practical guidelines for all types of conversations. He also explores the cost and purpose of silence, why to check motives when talking to friends, family, and authorities, how to ask good questions, ways to deal with anger and resentment, and more.

In The Difference a Father Makes, Ed Tandy McGlasson challenges dads to excel in fatherhood and equips them to do so. Using the model of Jesus and God the Father, he contends that setting up goal lines in the lives of children, marking when they enter into adulthood, is a must - and a father's job does not end there. In a powerful way, he answers the "Yeah, but how?" question every man asks after being stirred to be a good father.

Colorblindness ignores the realities of race and the history of injustice. On the other hand, antiracism centers racial concerns and in so doing often alienates people who need to be involved in the process. Sociologist George Yancey offers an alternative approach to racial relations where all parties contribute and are mutually accountable to one another for societal well-being. He provides empirical rationale for how collaborative conversations in a mutual accountability model can reduce racial division.

For anyone struggling with pain or loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this book goes beyond wellness and beyond miraculous physical transformations to explore how we can—personally and collectively—be made well.

We've lost the practice of lament. Most people don't know how to process personal or communal mourning and instead struggle to honor their tears, vulnerability, and the full weight of these disillusioning times. But tending our grief might be exactly what we need to reimagine a way forward. Tracing her difficult experiences of a catastrophic home fire, a threat to her child's well-being, and other devastating losses and upheavals, Terra McDaniel offers a clear framework for expressing heartache and burdens.

In Mama's Got Anxiety, fellow anxious mom Courtney Devich helps you understand all the anxious feelings you're facing so you can cope and take your joy back.

My friend, we live in a culture saturated with sex. Everywhere you turn it's there - discussed, debated, demonstrated, and used to sell anything and everything from cars to shampoo. And the world's message is loud and clear: You have to be desirable, attractive, and sexy in order to be loved. But I know far too many people who have been burned by sex - not only as children but as teens and adults - simply because it wasn't sex according to God's directions. And that breaks my heart...and his.

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.

Sometimes it can seem as if friends are more work and pain than they're worth, with friendship challenges that we have to endure and struggle through. Life gets in the way of our well-intentioned efforts to connect. Conflicts and differences over serious issues divide us and make us think that we could never be close to a person ever again. How can we build real relationships that are life giving and pass the test of time? Bryan Loritts mines one of the Bible's least-known books for insights into how friendships can flourish even in the midst of sin and brokenness.