How do we communicate with people who disagree with us? In today's polarized world, friends and strangers clash with each other over issues large and small. Coworkers have conflicts in the office. Married couples fight over finances. And online commenters demonize one another's political and religious perspectives. Is there any hope for restoring civil discourse? Communications expert Tim Muehlhoff provides a strategy for having difficult conversations, helping us move from contentious debate to constructive dialogue. By acknowledging and entering into the other person's story, we are more likely to understand where they're coming from and to cultivate common ground. Insights from Scripture and communication theory provide practical ways to manage disagreements and resolve conflicts. We can disagree without being disagreeable. And we can even help another see different points of view and learn from one another. Find out how.

Put together this 1000 piece family puzzle from Mudpuppy to reveal a series of "Cool Cats" that represent each letter of the alphabet. This fun and eye-catching puzzle features art by Carolyn Gavin. The pieces come packaged in a sturdy box, perfect for gifting, reuse and storage. - 1000 pieces - Contains insert about artist and/or image - Assembled puzzle measures: 20 x 27" (25 x 68.6 cm) - Package measures: 8.25 x 11.25 x 2" (25.7 x 21.6 x 5 cm) - Contains small parts: not suitable for children under 3 - Puzzle greyboard contains 90% recycled paper. Packaging contains 70% recycled paper. Printed with nontoxic inks

A NEW YEAR HAS ARRIVED! And like the year before it, this new 365 days has come with much anticipation. Many people begin January 1 with goals, hopes, dreams, and perhaps even a plan of action for all that they would like to accomplish. The possibilities for a new year's list of resolutions are endless. Some of the most common include exercise routines, healthier eating, progress at work, and quality time spent with family. Life goals and resolutions can be a great way to begin a year, so long as a healthy balance is maintained. For Christians, the start of a new year arrives with reminders afresh of the glorious promises that God has made to his people through the Bible. For Christians--those who have repented of their sin and received Jesus Christ as their Savior--a new year is a chance for renewed commitments to seek after God and to share the good news of Jesus. The Scriptures below are foundational truths that Christians believe. They are beacons of hope, not only for a new year but also for an eternal future with God. If you have not yet placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, then these Scriptures bring great news. The gospel of Jesus is that his birth, life, death on a cross, and resurrection to heaven from the grave deliver eternal life to those who turn away from sin and receive Jesus as their Savior. Make this new year the start of an eternity-changing journey toward becoming a child of God! Gospel Scriptures for a New Year "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. . . . The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 3:23; 6:23) "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world. . . . But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1, 2; 2:4, 5) "When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:4-7) The Apostle Paul wrote, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." (1 Timothy 1:15) "[Jesus] committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to [God] who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:22-25) The Light of the Gospel Let these Scriptures sink deep into your hearts. Memorize them. Share them with your friends and family. The gospel--or good news--of Jesus Christ is a bright light to an often-dark world. If you believe the truths that you've just read, it is only fitting that you would want to share the rich hope of the gospel, especially at the beginning of a new year. If you have read these words of good news as an unbeliever, consider taking a first step of faith in Jesus Christ by praying the following: Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son, and that he died on the cross to save me from my sin. I believe that he rose again to life, and that he invites me to live forever with him in heaven as part of your family. Because of what Jesus has done, I ask you to forgive me of my sin and give me eternal life. Help me in a way that pleases and honors you. Amen.

The Christian life is not a set of rituals or teachings, but a relationship with God through His Holy Spirit. No matter how much you know about the Bible, no matter how strong your self-discipline, no matter how hard you try to serve and please God, if your relationship with the Holy Spirit is weak, the Christian life will not work for you. In Experiencing the Spirit, Heidler shows how God wants to unleash His power in your life, to bring you into dynamic, life-giving relationship with the Spirit of God. We were given the Holy Spirit to make the Christian life experiential, to make Jesus real in our lives. So stop struggling to survive from week to week and start living every minute in the power He has given you.

On December 7, 1828, Lewis Bissell Dougherty was born at Cantonment Leavenworth, the military post of the Missouri River. For the rest of his life, Dougherty carried a footnote to his name: he was one of the first white children to be born in Kansas. These "first" children came to be celebrated as white America's first steps onto the Western frontier. In "Children of the Western Plains," Marilyn Holt rescues the experience of children from the usual adult perspectives on Western history. Her book is the first in a new series that will emphasize the experience of children during different times and at different locales in the American past. The books will be abundantly illustrated with black-and-white photographs and drawings. They will take advantage of primary source materials, reminiscences, documents, and secondary works in telling the story of American children throughout the nation's history. In Ms. Holt's book, she explores what life was like for youngsters who lived on the Great Plains in nineteenth-century frontier life. She is especially interested in how they were raised, how they were influenced by their environment, and what sort of independence they experienced while growing up. Her chapters address a breadth of experiences and perceptions: why families came to the Great Plains and where they decided to settle; how families and communities were organized for education, work, and play; how health care, accidents, and mortality affected childhoods; and what children experienced outside the home. As much as possible, she lets the children speak for themselves. This is their story. With 25 black-and-white photographs.

Who's really behind America's appetite for foods from around the globe? This group biography from an electric new voice in food writing honours seven extraordinary women, all immigrants, who left an indelible mark on the way Americans eat today. Taste Makers stretches from the Second World War to the present, with absorbing and deeply researched portraits of figures including Mexican-born Elena Zelayeta, a blind chef; Marcella Hazan, the deity of Italian cuisine and Norma Shirley, a champion of Jamaican dishes. In imaginative, lively prose, Mayukh Sen-a queer, brown child of immigrants-reconstructs the lives of these women in vivid and empathetic detail, daring to ask why some were famous in their own time but not in ours and why others shine brightly even today. Weaving together histories of food, immigration and gender, Taste Makers challenges the way readers look at what's on their plate-and the women whose labour, overlooked for so long, makes those meals possible.

The question of evil--its origins, its justification, its solution--has plagued humankind from the beginning. Every generation raises the question and struggles with the responses it is given. Questions about the nature of evil and how it is reconciled with the truth claims of Christianity are unavoidable; we need to be prepared to respond to such questions with great clarity and good faith. God and Evil compiles the best thinking on all angles on the question of evil, from some of the finest scholars in religion, philosophy and apologetics, including Gregory E. Ganssle and Yena Lee Bruce Little Garry DeWeese R. Douglas Geivett James Spiegel Jill Graper Hernandez Win Corduan David Beck With additional chapters addressing "issues in dialogue" such as hell and human origins, and a now-famous debate between evangelical philosopher William Lane Craig and atheist philosopher Michael Tooley, God and Evil provides critical engagement with recent arguments against faith and offers grounds for renewed confidence in the God who is "acquainted with grief."

Don'ts for Husbands and Don'ts for Wives are facsimile editions of the original books published by A&C Black in 1913. Each pocket-sized book contains hundreds of snippets of entertaining advice for a happy marriage, which rings true almost 100 years after it was written. The reissued titles are ideal Christmas stocking fillers, and gifts for weddings, engagements and anniversaries. Advice appears under the following chapters: 1. Personalities 2. How to Avoid Discord 3. Habits 4. Financial Matters 5. Evenings at Home 6. Jealousy 7. Recreation 8. Food 9. Dress 10. Entertaining 11. Household Management 12. Children 'Among the bon mots there is much wisdom. They would make great stocking fillers, or wedding anniversary gifts!' Good Book Guide (October 2007)

Jonathan Adler is a design company that creates luxe and livable interiors and chic products that are synonymous with modern American glamour. The Jonathan Adler Versailles Hex Boxed Pen features Adler's signature pattern dynamically deconstructed for a 21st century twist, classic-meets-cutting edge, treating graphic greatness to gobs of gold. This chic gold, lavender black patterned ballpoint pen is packaged in an elegant foil stamped hinged-box so it makes a beautiful gift. - Ballpoint Pen - Foil-Stamped Exterior Hinged Box - Size: 7 x 1.875 x 1.25", 178 x 48 x 32 mm

While we already know that the 90s was the coolest decade in recorded human history, what was the pinnacle of culture in the era of CD-ROMs and Pogs, The Fresh Prince and butterfly clips? Clash of the 90s is here to decide. The flip phone or the Nintendo 64? The Spice Girls or Britney Spears? Home Alone or the Tamagotchi? What was the raddest, the most influential? Which changed the course of human history? Battle these icons to pick a victor. To play, deal all the cards equally, and no peeking! In turns, flip the card on top of your deck and choose from one of six categories: Freshness, Radness, 90s-ness, Game Changer, Influence or Legacy. Each have numerical values. Read one out, and if your icon's score beats the rest, take all the played cards from that round.

My body is a manifestation of the effects of working at BX. I have acquired physical ailments that are quite advanced for one my age. At 21, I now have a bad back, wear orthopedic shoes, and have joints that ache in the morning as well as when it rains. My body has become dilapidated. Have you ever had a job that you hated? Has work hindered your plans for your life? Do you meet, work with, or work for the most inane and irritating people on Earth in your line of work? Are you tired of working for The Man? Are you The Man? Before you is a compilation of memorable incidents and people from the early working years of Ivey Brown. He began writing this book while working in fast food in high school. Over the following six years, he's been everything from a cashier to a manual laborer...and he's not 24 yet. In this book, you will no doubt find yourself, whether in dealing with the most absurd of customers who are Always right, or in doing the most mind-numbing work ever imagined by any regime skilled in the art of torture.

Between adolescence and adulthood is a new stage of life: emerging adulthood. Those in their twenties and early thirties find themselves in transition. This "provisional adulthood" is a time of identity exploration and instability in which one's vocation, purpose, relationships and spirituality are all being renegotiated. Many emerging adults lose sight of God and experience significant confusion and brokenness. Others unexpectedly reconnect with the Christian faith and seek deeper discipleship, yet lack helpful mentoring and direction. Veteran disciplemakers Rick Dunn and Jana Sundene offer concrete guidance for those who shepherd and care for emerging adults. Some traditional models of disciplemaking focus on a set curriculum to be transferred from the discipler to the disciplee. Dunn and Sundene instead emphasize relational rhythms of discernment, intentionality and reflection to meet emerging adults where they are at and then to walk with them further into the Christlife. Whether you're an older adult ministering to the next generation or a younger adult with a heart for your peers, this book is an accessible, hopeful guide for effective ministry to emerging adults.

We often regard the author of the Gospel of Mark as an obscure figure about whom we know little. Many would be surprised to learn how much fuller a picture of Mark exists within widespread African tradition, tradition that holds that Mark himself was from North Africa, that he founded the church in Alexandria, that he was an eyewitness to the Last Supper and Pentecost, that he was related not only to Barnabas but to Peter as well and accompanied him on many of his travels. In this provocative reassessment of early church tradition, Thomas C. Oden begins with the palette of New Testament evidence and adds to it the range of colors from traditional African sources, including synaxaries (compilations of short biographies of saints to be read on feast days), archaeological sites, non-Western historical documents and ancient churches. The result is a fresh and illuminating portrait of Mark, one that is deeply rooted in African memory and seldom viewed appreciatively in the West.

Some invitations we desperately want: "Will you marry me?" "Would you consider a promotion?" Other invitations we never want to receive but must respond to all the same: "What treatment do you want for your tumor?" Invitations pound away at the coastlines of the soul with a transforming force. God is also sending invitations. Sometimes they seem less compelling than anything on my to-do list. Why would I want to say yes to the invitation to rest when I'm already so far behind? Why follow when I could lead? Why accept invitations to weep or to admit I am wrong or to wait? Saying yes might slow me down, sabotage my agenda and even undo who I think I am. Adele Calhoun, author of the popular Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, offers a book about invitations like these--divine invitations we miss or ignore because we've said yes to going with the cultural flow. While these invitations from God can sometimes be difficult to accept, they can heal and restore even as they shape where we go, what we do and who we become. What we say yes to, what we say no to forms the terrain of our future. Included in this book are reflection questions and exercises as well as overview charts with recommended disciplines to guide you through each theme. As you attend to the often hidden, quiet voice of the Great Inviter, you will find yourself as God created you to be.

Show your RAVENCLAW(TM) house pride with this handy pocket notebook collection featuring graphics based on the epic HARRY POTTER(TM) films. Featuring three unique designs, this colorful set of pocket notebooks celebrates the wisest house in HOGWARTS(TM) with one ruled, one blank, and one grid-lined notebook--perfect for all your note-taking needs.

Balance in a box: accessible prompts in a pick-me-up package that will genuinely help to cultivate a more balanced life, including mindfulness practices and self-care activities. The gift of rejuvenation and calm, this is a perfect way to refresh for New Year, New You-or anytime of the year. Includes 50 faux matchsticks with printed prompts. Fans of Mindfulness Cards and Spark Happiness or The Little Book of Mindfulnesswill love this gift. This gift is ideal for: * Parents * Brides * Soul nurturers

In a world without wood, we might not be here at all. We wouldn't have had the fire, heat, and shelter that allowed us to expand into the planet's colder regions. If civilization somehow did develop, our daily lives would be vastly different: there would be no violins, baseball bats, chopsticks, or wine corks. The book you are now holding wouldn't exist.

Spike Carlsen's A Splintered History of Wood is a grand celebration of all things wooden and the characters who lovingly shape them--eccentric artisans and passionate enthusiasts who have created some of the world's most beloved musical instruments, feared weapons, dazzling architecture, and bizarre forms of transportation. From champion chainsaw carvers to blind woodworkers, from the Miraculous Staircase to the Lindbergh kidnapping case, here is a passionate, personal, amazingly entertaining exploration of nature's greatest gift.

Featuring eye-catching geometric designs by artist Marleigh Culver, this kit invites you to relax through the meditative process of painting by number. When completed, you'll have three beautiful abstract paintings to gift or display. Includes three pre-printed art boards, six pots of acrylic paint, two paintbrushes, and an instruction guide. Perfect for anyone looking for creative ways to unplug and slow down!