Recommendations based on "In the Low Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons"

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A nurturing and hopeful collection of practices to help an emerging generation of Christians reconnect to their faith, find inner healing, and build spiritual community—from Glennon Doyle’s “favorite faith writer” and the author of Jesus Feminist and editor of A Rhythm of Prayer“This is the perfect guide for all those of who need to be reintroduced to a faith full of grace, mercy, and love.”—Kate Bowler, author of Good EnoughIt’s hard to leave a faith that has raised us. Maybe it’s even harder to stay. But what can feel impossible is living in the tension. Living with a faith that evolves.Sarah Bessey is an expert at faithfully stumbling forward. As a New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of Evolving Faith,the foremost community for progressive Christians, she has been trusted by thousands of people to pursue a reconstruction of faith centered on compassion, truth, and inclusion. Bessey has found a deeply underserved and underestimated remnant in the wilderness of Christianity who are still devoted to Jesus, deeply rooted in the Gospel, fascinated with Scripture, and committed to reimagining their faith.Field Notes for the Wilderness guides us through multiple principles to live by for an evolving faith, including• practicing wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines• mothering ourselves with compassion and empathy• making space for lament and righteous rage• finding good spiritual teachers• discovering what we are for in this life, and moving in that directionIn this groundbreaking and nurturing book, Bessey becomes a shepherd for our curiosity, giving us a table for our questions, tools to cultivate what we crave, and a blessing for what was—even as we leave it behind.

Life is turbulent. On that, we can all agree. Disappointed dreams, broken relationships, identity crises, vocational hang-ups, wounds from the past--there are so many ways life can send us crashing up against the rocks.In this deeply personal book, Jonathan Martin draws from his own stories of failure and loss to find the love that can only be discovered on the bottom. How to Survive a Shipwreck is an invitation to trust the goodness of God and the resilience of your soul. Jonathan's clarion call is this: No matter how hard you've fallen, no matter how much you've been hurt, help is on the way--just when you need it most.With visionary artistry and pastoral wisdom, Jonathan Martin reveals what we'll need to make it through those uncharted waters, how we can use these defining experiences to live out of our depths, and why it will then become impossible to go back to the half-life we once lived.

A “special work” (J. S. Park) that honors life’s deep griefs, great joys, and unsettled in-betweens through every sacred season, assuring us that we are never alone “Oh, I love this book. . . . Honest and hopeful, masterfully written, both a balm and a bolstering.”—Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author Exquisitely told and urgently resonant, Even After Everything is a love letter to anyone who has opened their heart only to be hurt. Stephanie Duncan Smith proposes that it’s not through grit or forced resilience that you will find a way forward, but through receiving the full spectrum of our lives, just as we receive the empathy of God-with-us in every moment. Duncan Smith’s disorientation began when she lost her first pregnancy on the winter solstice, just as the world readied to celebrate its most historic birth on Christmas. Then a new yet uncertain pregnancy unfolded parallel to the pandemic, until nearly one year to the day of her loss, she gave birth to her daughter at the peak of mortality in their city. These contradictions compelled Duncan Smith into a desperate search for steadiness, which she found in the liturgical year as a grounding force and the promise that we are seen by God in every season. In Even After Everything, Duncan Smith traverses the church’s circle of time and reorients herself and us in the sacred story told through Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, and Ordinary Time. She reveals the sacred year—through its endless interplay of love, loss, risk, and resurrection—as a mirror to the human experience, an anchor for turbulent times, and a womb strong enough to encompass every human care. At its heart lives the promise of God-with-us, inviting us into the spiritual practice of taking courage in the trust that we are accompanied in everything, and love will always have the last word.

Is it possible that good things can come out of our broken dreams?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.In When God Doesn't Fix It, Laura helps you understand that: We aren't the only ones whose lives have taken unexpected turns Even heroes of our faith experienced brokenness Despite our flaws and stories, God can use us in extraordinary ways God may not fix everything. In fact, although your situation might not ever change or get better, with Jesus you can. Not because of your faith, but because of the faithfulness of God.

New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances and shows readers how to live assured when life doesn't turn out like they expected.What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention hurtful, and His promises doubtful?Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness.Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But she's also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability, and honest humor, helps us to: Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations. Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes. Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle. Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us. Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God's truth.

Beloved: If there are situations, circumstances, or perhaps relationships in your life that you have been struggling to overcome, trying to work through, or doing your best to work around, throw your head back and declare to the universe, "Until Today!" If you believe that life has to be hard, that things will probably never get better for you, that you must expect less or accept less because that is just the way life is, raise your hands and shout into the ether, "Until Today!" If you have been hurt, betrayed, abandoned, or rejected, if you are struggling with feelings of anger, resentment, doubt, or fear, put your hands on your heart and gently whisper to yourself, "Until Today!" My friend and colleague Dr. Therman Evans once told me, "If you behaved yourself into a situation, you must behave yourself out of it!" A devotion is a behavior in service to love, truth, and God that will create powerful changes in the circumstances of your life that have held you down and back until today! Whatever has been going on in your mind, your life, or your heart can stop -- right now, if that is truly what you desire. However, you must be willing to "do a new thing." You must spend a little time, each day, in devotion to the truth about yourself and the truth about life. You must make a conscious approach to what you think and how you feel about what you do. Devotion will clear up misconceptions that may have obscured your vision of life until today! A devotion is a divine action. Its profound dedication demonstrates the desire to be in service to God. Since it is God's desire for you to be happy, any time spent in devotion will be beneficial. Your devotion, as a demonstration of your willingness to embrace new concepts and to undertake behaviors that support those concepts, will ultimately result in your happiness. When you are actively, willingly devoted to seeking a "good thing," the Divine Intelligence of life will guide, support, and reward you. I am excited! It is exciting to be alive in a time when people are actively, willingly, and devotedly seeking ways to be of greater service and create more love in our collective experience. I can hardly wait to see the good, the joy, and the peace that we can create. I am so grateful to be in support of and of service to you as you undertake this journey. Because I know that "where two or more are gathered" the Spirit of good is present, I believe that the things upon which we focus our hearts and minds will reap bountiful results. So, here's to your personal strength and your peace of mind, through the elimination of all things that hindered or denied our collective power and greatness -- Until Today! Be Blessed! Iyanla

A life-changing guide to accessing the new life Jesus came to bring—from the bestselling author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World   “You’ll emerge from this reading experience a changed woman.”—Liz Curtis Higgs   You long to serve God with grace and strength and reflect Christ in every word and action. Yet you find yourself continually struggling to bring that vision to life in your daily walk. At our very core, every one of us is a “twisted sister” within whom the flesh and spirit are battling constantly for control. We are afflicted with a chronic disconnect between our good-girl desire to put Jesus first and our bad-girl realities that crowd our thoughts and push Him out of the way. In Having a Mary Spirit, Joanna Weaver directs your gaze past your own shortcomings to the God who stands ready, willing, and able to make a new woman out of you. She equips you with biblical insights and practical tools to partner with Christ, inviting Him into the hidden places of your soul and giving Him full permission to redeem and renovate. Drawing on the stories of the biblical Marys (Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary, sister of Martha; and Mary Magdalene) and others whose experience with God transformed their lives, Joanna points you toward lasting personal transformation—soul-deep change that results in a complete makeover—from the inside out.   Includes a fourteen-week Bible study (adaptable to twelve weeks) for both individual reflection and group discussion.

The third in Paul Selig’s popular “I Am the Word” channeled literature series, this extraordinary psychological-spiritual guide addresses how to overcome low self-worth and claim our true purpose as individuals.Winner of the 2014 Nautilus Award represents “Better Books for a Better World”—the Silver Award in the category of Religion /Spirituality: Other Traditions. In his third channeled text, Paul Selig—acclaimed author of I Am the Word and The Book of Love and Creation—brings us his most practical message yet.Informing us that “you decide what you are worth,” Selig’s spiritual guides take readers through a program to understand  our own inherent worth, and beat the fears that drain  our inborn spiritual knowing..Selig reveals that true understanding of our life’s purpose can be found through “service”—the practice of the thing that you most love. Readers can discover their own form of service through this powerful  mantra: “I know who I am, I know what I am, I know how I serve.”

One hundred relatable prayers for talking to God during all those busy, joyful, hard, or mundane moments of each day when you can't seem to find the right words. Prayer—the act of entering into conversation with God—is one of the hallmarks of our faith. Yet, prayer also tends to be one of the spiritual practices believers struggle with the most. So how do we cultivate a lifestyle of “praying without ceasing”? Tama Fortner, author and ghostwriter of several bestselling books, understands this challenge all too well. But she also knows the peace and comfort that comes when we bring every moment of our days—from the small annoyances and great joys to the seemingly insurmountable challenges and seasons of doubt—to the feet of our Father. In Prayers for Each Moment, she shares one hundred prayers that you can turn to whether you're feeling worried, excited, conflicted, or grateful. Each prayer comes with a related Scripture verse, and an additional section includes Prayers to Pray Together. Prayers include: When Five O’clock on Friday Seems Like It Will Never Come When I Need to Hear God’s Voice When I’m Awake in the Night When I've Absolutely Crushed It The struggle to know how to pray is nothing new. Even the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and he gave them—and us—the beautiful template we now know as “the Lord’s Prayer.” Just as we can use that prayer as a springboard for the cries of our own heart, may the prayers in this book help encourage you to practice your own rhythm of sharing your heart with God.

Home Tonight follows the path of Henri Nouwen’s spiritual homecoming. More than three years prior to writing his great classic, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Nouwen suffered a personal breakdown followed by a time of healing solitude when he encountered Rembrandt’s famous painting. Within his solitude he reflected on and identified with the parable’s characters and experienced profound and inspiring life lessons.This captivating book was created from never-before-published materials that formed the basis of the small workshop inspired by Nouwen’s intimate encounter with Rembrandt’s painting. Readers are led to welcome their unique Belovedness through practices of “spiritual listening,” journaling, and communing with God, thus connecting personally with the unique, unconditional love of the One who created them. Home Tonight is a practical guide for the inner journey home.