Decompress Your StressAnxious Art is for readers and doodlers seeking relief from anxiety and stress through meditative, creative processes. What if we took our stress and used it to create art that brings us peace? A 2016 study at Drexel university that examined the effects of creative activity on reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol discovered that "45 minutes of art making...resulted in statistically significant lowering of cortisol levels." We all know cortisol is the stress hormone, so grab a pen or pencil and let the meditations and writing prompts in this mindfulness journal take you on a calming journey to a healthier, happier mind. T.S. Eliot once said, "Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity," but if he had this creative journal during times of worry, he surely would have said creativity was the handmaiden to peace. With this friendly, calming companion, you will find that you are much more present in the here and now. A unique guided journal that will calm and inspire: When used as self-expression, creativity can allow us to take part in what psychologists call "sublimation," or the transformation of negative or socially unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable or even beautiful creations. Anxious Art offers inventive prompts, art projects, and affirmations to inspire artistic activities that distract from feelings of distress and anxiety. As you experience this transformative guided journal, you will work with: Lyrical affirmations that build self-confidence and reduce fear Therapeutic writing exercises that root you in the present and spark joy Doodling that calms your emotions Guided breathing exercises that bring you into the present moment Fans of Wreck This Journal, Tiny Buddha's Worry Journal, or I Am Her Now, will love the calming benefits of Anxious Art.

When Memoirs was first published in 1975, it created quite a bit of turbulence in the mediathough long self-identified as a gay man, Williams' candor about his love life, sexual encounters, and drug use was found shocking in and of itself, and such revelations by America's greatest living playwright were called "a raw display of private life" by The New York Times Book Review. As it turns out, thirty years later, Williams' look back at his life is not quite so scandalous as it once seemed; he recalls his childhood in Mississippi and St. Louis, his prolonged struggle as a "starving artist," the "overnight" success of The Glass Menagerie in 1945, the death of his long-time companion Frank Merlo in 1962, and his confinement to a psychiatric ward in 1969 and subsequent recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, all with the same directness, compassion, and insight that epitomize his plays.And, of course, Memoirs is filled with Williams' amazing friends from the worlds of stage, screen, and literature as heoften hilariously, sometimes fondly, sometimes notremembers them: Laurette Taylor, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh, Carson McCullers, Anna Magnani, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tallulah Bankhead to name a few. And now film director John Waters, well acquainted with shocking the American public, has written an introduction that gives some perspective on the various reactions to Tennessee's Memoirs, while also paying tribute to a fellow artist who inspired many with his integrity and endurance.

Bring the beauty of the birds of North America to your home or office with this keepsake set of illustrated wooden magnets, fold-out poster, sticker sheets, and mini species guidebook. * DELUXE WOODEN MAGNETS: This set includes 8 full-color, illustrated wooden magnets, each featuring a unique bird species (Bluethroat, Green Jay, Northern Cardinal, Hooded Warbler, Northern Jacana, Gambel's Quail, Rock Ptarmigan, Snowy Owl). * FOLD-OUT POSTER: Show off your love for your feathered friends with this 6 3/8 X 7 1/4 inch illustrated fold-out poster. * BOOK INCLUDED: Learn the ins and outs of the 8 featured bird species, plus birding basics, in the enclosed 48-page, fully-illustrated paperback book. * BONUS STICKER SHEETS: Two sheets of full-color stickers add avian flair to anything you place them on. * A UNIQUE GIFT FOR BIRD LOVERS: Bird lovers of all ages and abilities will love this unique gift set.

The BBQ Companion features 50 recipes designed for cooking in the great outdoors. Whether you’ve got plans for a camping trip, a picnic or a backyard dinner, these recipe cards will have you cooking all summer. In the mood for a classic? Try Argentinian beef with chimichurri, grilled buttermilk chicken, or sticky bourbon-bbq short ribs. Or, if you’re looking for something different, there’s Korean bulgogi tofu, haloumi burgers with peperonata, or rum-spiked barbecued banana boats. Each card comes with a different recipe, with enough choices to keep you cooking all summer. So, just shuffle the deck and get grilling! • Covers all the bases, from seafood to steak • Recipes for side dishes and desserts • Includes vegetarian and vegan options

The astonishing debut in English of one of Romania's foremost writers.
Mircea Cartarescu, born in 1956, is one of Romania's leading novelists and poets. This translation of his 1989 novel "Nostalgia," writes Andrei Codrescu, "introduces to English a writer who has always had a place reserved for him in a constellation that includes the Brothers Grimm, Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges, Bruno Schulz, Julio Cortazar, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Milan Kundera, and Milorad Pavic, to mention just a few." Like most of his literary contemporaries of the avant-garde Eighties Generation, his major work has been translated into several European languages, with the notable exception, until now, of English.
Readers opening the pages of "Nostalgia" should brace themselves for a verbal tidal wave of the imagination that will wash away previous ideas of what a novel is or ought to be. Although each of its five chapters is separate and stands alone, a thematic, even mesmeric harmony finds itself in children's games, the music of the spheres, humankind's primordial myth-making, the origins of the universe, and in the dilapidated tenement blocks of an apocalyptic Bucharest during the years of communist dictatorship.

A common objection to belief in the God of the Bible is that a good, kind, and loving deity would never command the wholesale slaughter of nations. Even Christians have a hard time stomaching such a thought, and many avoid reading those difficult Old Testament passages that make us squeamish. Instead, we quickly jump to the enemy-loving, forgiving Jesus of the New Testament. And yet, the question doesn't go away. Did God really command genocide? Is the command to "utterly destroy" morally unjustifiable? Is it literal? Are the issues more complex and nuanced than we realize?
In the tradition of his popular "Is God a Moral Monster?," Paul Copan teams up with Matthew Flannagan to tackle some of the most confusing and uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Together they help the Christian and nonbeliever alike understand the biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical implications of Old Testament warfare passages. Pastors, youth pastors, campus ministers, apologetics readers, and laypeople will find that this book both enlightens and equips them for serious discussion of troubling spiritual questions.

The Foundations of Theology in Everyday Language Dallas Seminary professors Nathan Holsteen and Michael Svigel are passionate about the key doctrines of Christianity. They want readers to know why they're important and why they matter. This volume includes two parts: * How Firm a Foundation: Revelation, Scripture, and Truth * God in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit The authors explore these important topics in a concise and highly readable style that makes sense--whether you're a student of the Bible, a pastor, or someone who simply wants to know God better. For each topic you'll find * An introduction, overview, and review of the key points * Several applicable Bible texts, including verses to memorize * A quick-paced history of the doctrine * Distortions to be aware of and avoid * Reading lists for further study * A glossary of theological terms "Exploring Christian Theology is a wonderful doctrinal primer that teaches theology in a way that will engage you and cause you to reflect. . . . A great way to get acquainted with key biblical theological themes." --Darrell Bock, Senior Research Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

With these fun mini puzzles, puzzle hobbyists and cat lovers can piece together two cute scenes of cats going cuckoo for catnip!

This adorable mini puzzle set includes two designs of cats with catnip. Each itty-bitty jigsaw puzzle is made up of 180 tiny puzzle pieces and forms a 7.5" x 6" finished scene that you can craft-glue together and frame as decoration or simply break apart and start anew!

Everyone has something interesting to say if you take the time to listen. The Interview Chain is a series of conversations-each interviewee was asked to nominate someone they admire as the next link. Starting from a casual conversation on a boat on the Thames, the chain wended its way for over 23,000 miles, alighting on three continents and gathering up personal perspectives on issues that really matter in the world today. The interviewees include a theatre director, a rabbi, a philanthropist, a sculptor, a New York Mayoral candidate, a pioneering documentary maker, and a man who rescues giant trees. Some have worked in challenging places-Kabul in the time of the Taliban, a Romanian orphanage, immigration detention centres, remote Indian villages-while others have found themselves caught up in extraordinary situations such as the Rwandan genocide, the Ferguson uprising, and the UN Climate Change Negotiations. This is the most lovely approach to tell social change stories that I have read about ever, and it is an overwhelming honor to be part of this book. Ruth Messinger, Global Ambassador to the American Jewish World Service and former New York City political leader.

Your Grace-Filled Guide to Relationships It's hard, sometimes, to get over that thing your husband said weeks ago; or to resolve that tension with your colleague at work; or to fix a lifelong friendship that's taken a bad turn. The biggest problem with relationships is they always seem to involve sinners--including ourselves. So how can we form strong, resilient bonds with people who, like us, are bound to mess up? Thankfully, it's not all on us. Through stories and biblical teaching, Jessica Thompson helps us move beyond trying to "fix" the people we interact with, and shows us a better way. Though our relationships may be marred by tension and frustration, because we are welcomed and known by Christ, they don't have to stay that way. "Nothing changes the way we relate to others more than knowing how God relates to us. Knowing how God loves us and forgives us and is gracious and merciful toward us and forbears with us inevitably affects the way we think about other people. My good friend Jessica Thompson has written a book that articulates who God is for us and then shows how that changes the way we are toward others. Thank you, Jessica, for reminding me that God always meets my mess with his mercy and my failure with his forgiveness. Knowing this makes me want to love God and others."--Tullian Tchividjian, founder of Liberate and author of One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World "We need grace in all our relationships. So much loneliness, feeling betrayed, alienation, anger, vengeance, sadness, grief find their roots in relational conflict. Jessica humbly guides us to see that only by being a recipient of God's grace can we be agents of grace in our relationships. She does this with humor, honesty, and confession from her own experience, not with advice as a relational guru."--Justin S. Holcomb, Episcopal priest, seminary professor, and author of On the Grace of God "Everyday Grace is for all who have struggled to accept their children and honor their parents and initiate with their neighbors and forgive their spouses and respect their bosses and celebrate their rivals. But it is not filled with practical tips that would trivialize the difficulty of these things. Nor is it a book of relational psychology that would strategize a resolution to these things. Instead, it is filled with the Scriptures that speak to these things--helping us to rest in Christ's covering of all our relational failure and inviting us to change by the power of the Holy Spirit."--Nancy Guthrie, Bible teacher and author "Relational paradise was lost when our first parents fell into sin. Our desire for change in this area is anywhere between cautiously optimistic and downright cynical. What I enjoy about Everyday Grace is that Thompson simply cannot get over the one hope for true reconciliation: God, in Christ, has befriended us."--Gloria Furman, author of Glimpses of Grace and Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full "Relationships are hard. We know this. Jessica Thompson knows this too and shares how she fights to take her gaze off herself and onto the only one who can help our broken relationships--Jesus. Her method doesn't come from a list of ways to implement change; rather, she focuses on the gospel that transforms hearts and minds. Be encouraged by the good news as you read Everyday Grace, for it is the gospel that is our only Hope for our relationship problem."--Trillia Newbell, author of Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves and United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity

Internationally respected scholar Francis Moloney offers a Catholic introduction to the New Testament that shows how to read it both faithfully and critically. The opening chapter and an epilogue directly address the theological requirements of, and historical challenges for, ecclesial reading. The remaining chapters give exemplary readings of the figure of Jesus and of the various divisions of the New Testament canon. Conceived as a resource for religious educators, deacons, and other ministers in the Catholic Church, this book will serve Catholics and others as an ideal supplement to a conventional New Testament introduction or as a companion to reading the New Testament itself.

For more than seven decades, the American government has acted to provide housing for the poor. In America's Trillion-Dollar Housing Mistake, Howard Husock explains how, as with so many anti-poverty efforts, low-income housing programs have harmed those they were meant to help while causing grave collateral damage to cities and their citizens. Public housing projects, Mr. Husock writes, are only the best-known housing policy mistakes. His book explains how a long list of lesser-known efforts-including housing vouchers, community development corporations, the low-income housing tax credit, and the Community Reinvestment Act-are just as pernicious, working in concert to undermine sound neighborhoods and perpetuate a dependent underclass. He exposes the false premises underlying publicly subsidized housing, above all the belief that the private housing market inevitably fails the poor. Exploring the link between private housing markets and individual self-improvement, he shows how new and expensive public efforts are merely old wine in new bottles. Instead he argues for the deep but unappreciated importance to American society of economically diverse urban neighborhoods, and he demonstrates the historic and continuing importance of privately built "affordable" housing, from the brownstones of Brooklyn to the bungalows of Oakland and, in the present day, houses built through Habitat for Humanity. Bearing witness in the tradition of Jane Jacobs, Mr. Husock describes and laments the deadening effects of public and subsidized housing on the economies and vitality of American cities.

A Top Ten Book for Parish Ministry in 2015, Academy of Parish Clergy The Old Testament can seem strange and disturbing to contemporary readers. What should Christians make of Genesis 1-3, seemingly at odds with modern scientific accounts? Why does the Old Testament contain so much violence? How should Christians handle texts that give women a second-class status? Does the Old Testament contradict itself? Why are so many Psalms filled with anger and sorrow? What should we make of texts that portray God as filled with wrath? Combining pastoral insight, biblical scholarship, and a healthy dose of humility, gifted teacher and communicator Matthew Schlimm explores perennial theological questions raised by the Old Testament. He provides strategies for reading and appropriating these sacred texts, showing how the Old Testament can shape the lives of Christians today and helping them appreciate the Old Testament as a friend in faith.

What if the goal of raising a Christian girl was about more than keeping her virginity intact? What if it was about raising a strong, independent young woman who knows who she is, uses her voice, and confidently steps into the life God has for her? From the authors of The Great Sex Rescue comes this evidence-based book grounded on surveys of over 28,000 women to offer moms a fresh, freeing, and biblically grounded message of sexuality and self-worth for their daughters that is less about the don'ts and more about the dos. This isn't your average parenting book: no pat answers or overly broad principles here. No cliche prescriptives or toxic teachings that your daughter will have to unpack and recover from as an adult, like so many of us have. Instead, you'll find data-driven insights about how to raise a woman who is resilient, knows her strength, and has the discernment skills needed to make good choices. By reframing (and sometimes replacing) common evangelical messages to teen girls, this book will equip you to raise a girl who can navigate the difficult waters of growing up while still clinging tight to the God who created her on purpose, for a purpose.

Leading Charismatic Pastor Offers a Bold New Strategy for Spiritual Warfare
Kris Vallotton, a pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and the cofounder of its School of Supernatural Ministry, knows his way around the spiritual battlefield. For years he was tormented by a host of demonic assaults, though he didn't know the problems were spiritual. Confused, overwhelmed, he actually contemplated suicide--until the Lord delivered him.
Since that time, Kris has spent his life spreading a message of hope and freedom. He's helped people all over the world recognize the devil's stealth attacks and taught them to overcome. Weaving time-tested spiritual warfare tactics with biblical understanding, Kris offers Christians a bold new battle plan, showing how even those in the most devastating of personal battles can be victorious.

2015 Book of the Year Award, Academy of Parish Clergy Amid conflicting ideas about what the church should be and do in a post-Christian climate, the missing voice is that of Paul. The New Testament's most prolific church planter, Paul faced diverse challenges as he worked to form congregations. Leading biblical scholar James Thompson examines Paul's ministry of planting and nurturing churches in the pre-Christian world to offer guidance for the contemporary church. The church today, as then, must define itself and its mission among people who have been shaped by other experiences of community. Thompson shows that Paul offers an unprecedented vision of the community that is being conformed to the image of Christ. He also addresses contemporary (mis)understandings of words like missional, megachurch, and formation.

In this taut, chilling novel, Lester Ballard--a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape--haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail.  While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.

Hunters and fishermen are familiar with the "moment of truth"--that adrenaline-surging, heart-pounding instant when success and failure hang in the balance. In that moment they know if they will experience the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. The 90 devotions in "In Pursuit" are written specifically for this outdoorsman. Each devotion expertly weaves scriptural truth into true hunting and fishing stories that capture the thrill of the great outdoors and work on the hearts of men who are zealous in their drive to get out on the lake or up in the deer blind. These reflections on the active life help prepare men for success and significance both spiritually and in their sport. It is the perfect gift for the outdoorsman. Foreword by Steve Chapman.

This mini kit includes everything you need to grow your own catnip at home. There are few things more adorable and hilarious than cats on catnip. Inspired by Andrew Marttila's book Cats on Catnip (Running Press, 2018), this mini kit includes everything a cat lover needs to grow their own catnip at home including: - 2-1/2-inch ceramic pot - Package of catnip seeds - Peat pellet that expands in water - Three 3 X 2-1/2-inch magnets of funny cats eating catnip - 32-page book with growing instructions and photos of cats playing with catnip

It's Time to Make Your Marriage the Best Marriage Possible Is your marriage the best it can be? The same powerful principles from Neil Anderson's Steps to Freedom in Christ that helped set more than one million people free from spiritual bondage can now revolutionize your relationship with your spouse! Neil Anderson and coauthor Charles Mylander offer you the practical tools you need to safeguard your marriage against the things that threaten to destroy it. Use this book as a couple or share with other couples in a small group. Each chapter includes discussion questions and a devotional guide for couples. "This book gives biblical insight and practical helps for any marriage--whether it is healthy, in trouble, or disastrous. It is great to use personally or to share. Use it to protect the most important and cherished institution of society--the home." --Vonette Bright, cofounder, Campus Crusade for Christ International; founder/director, Women Today International "This book is absolutely life-transforming and marriage-enriching. I love the fact that it is solidly biblical and incredibly practical. There is a gem on every page." --Jim Burns, PhD, president of HomeWord and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University

There is a growing body of literature about the missional church, but the word "missional "is often defined in competing ways with little attempt to ground it deeply in Scripture. Michael Goheen, a dynamic speaker and the coauthor of two popular texts on the biblical narrative, unpacks the missional identity of the church by tracing the role God's people are called to play in the biblical story. Goheen shows that the church's identity can be understood only when its role is articulated in the context of the whole biblical story--not just the New Testament, but the Old Testament as well. He also explores practical outworkings and implications, offering field-tested suggestions for contemporary churches.