Do you know that God loves to think about you? Even right now! The psalmist David realized this when he wrote Psalm 139: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand." But God doesn't just think about you. He loves you--fiercely. In times of uncertainty, we need some pillars we can build our lives on. You are loved. You are welcomed. You are wanted. You were always his idea and he has a plan for you.

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Bevere shifts your perspective with daily boosts of courageous love, giving you a confidence grounded in both your identity and your relationship with your Creator.

These 90 devotionals each include Scripture to guide you, encouragement to lift you up, and powerful declarations of truth to send you forth in strength.

Are you ready to enter the dance of becoming fully alive? Have you ever wondered, if we have the God of heaven and earth living inside us, why aren't we experiencing more in life? Why aren't we seeing more transformation in ourselves, or in others for that matter? What does it look like to have "Jesus in me" anyway, as an individual and also as a woman? These are the questions life coach and pastor Terri Sullivant was asking herself when God answered her in a profound, life-changing way. The Divine Invitation provides a pathway to find what your heart deeply longs for in every area of life. It's a metaphor showing the way for every woman to enter the dance of becoming fully alive. Learning this dance is about developing a relationship with Jesus, like two people dancing skillfully and gracefully. It's about becoming so entwined with the thoughts, words, emotions, and behaviors of Jesus that the two of you are one. You find that this deep connection transcends all of life, enabling you to live joyfully and freely, come what may.

Among the oldest of India's spiritual texts, the Upanishads are records of intensive question-and-answer sessions given by illumined sages to their students - in ashrams, at family gatherings, in a royal court, and in the kingdom of Death. The sages share flashes of insight, extraordinary visions, the results of their investigation into consciousness itself. The Upanishads have puzzled and inspired wisdom seekers from Yeats to Schopenhauer. In this best-selling translation, Eknath Easwaran makes these challenging texts more accessible by selecting the passages most relevant to readers seeking timeless truths today. This book includes an overview of the cultural and historical setting, with chapter introductions, notes, and a Sanskrit glossary. But it is Easwaran's understanding of the wisdom of the Upanishads that makes this edition truly outstanding. Each sage, each Upanishad, appeals in a different way to the reader's head and heart. For Easwaran, the Upanishads are part of India's precious legacy, not just to Hinduism but to humanity, and in that spirit they are offered here.

Ayahuasca, Ritual and Religion in Brazil examines the emergence of religious groups in the Brazilian Amazon who constitute their systems of ritual, myth and principles around the use of a psychoactive brew known by diverse names, one of which is the Quechua term ayahuasca. Although the study of these religious movements has seen much development in recent decades there are still few publications in English, especially in the area of anthropology. This collection, containing many articles previously published only in Portuguese, explains the research conducted in Brazil. It shows a representative sample of the main types of approaches that have been used and also offers an overview of the historical development of this field of research in Brazil, especially from the perspective of the human sciences. This volume makes explicit what the study of the ayahuasca religions can contribute to classical and contemporary issues in anthropology. It presents a varied set of ethnographic approaches employed in the initial mapping of this phenomenon, establishing its historical and cultural origins. It also provides a basis to develop future work on these religions, both in their original contexts and in their expansion throughout Brazil and the world.

Dietrich von Hildebrand contributed to the Catholic tradition's increased recognition of conjugal love in marriage in the early twentieth century, and, as Kevin Schemenauer argues in Conjugal Love and Procreation, von Hildebrand's work remains relevant to contemporary Catholic thought as well. While some argue that this German Catholic philosopher and theologian neglected the role of procreation in marriage, this book shows that von Hildebrand's writings on reverence and superabundant finality contribute to a contemporary understanding of the significance of procreation within marriage. Schemenauer analyzes von Hildebrand's integration of conjugal love and procreation, showing him to be an insightful and parallel voice to the that of John Paul II. His thorough exploration of von Hildebrand's writings reveals not only how conjugal love and openness to new life are essential to marriage, but also how essential the role of procreation is to the conception of conjugal love.

George G. Higgins and the Quest for Worker Justice: The Evolution of Catholic Social Thought in America is a comprehensive and fascinating examination of the Catholic Church's involvement in social issues from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century through the lens of the life, career, writings, and ministry of the legendary Monsignor Higgins. Inspiring to both the clergy and laity, Msgr. George G. Higgins put a human face on the institutional commitments of the Church, advocated the role of the laity, remained loyal to the vision of the Second Vatican Council, and took the side of the working poor in his movement with organized labor. Much more than a limited biography, author John O' Brien offers a sweeping history of the "social questions" facing America over the past 100 years, the thought behind one of the leading figures in the worker justice movement, and a moving application of the rich heritage of Catholic Social Thought.

Originally published in 1978, Zen and the Ways is the first publication in a series of books published by the Buddhist Society in association with the Trevor Leggett Trust. In Japanese Zen, every activity in life, including the martial arts, flower arrangement and serving tea, are considered a field for practicing inner control, mediation and inspiration, and can be termed the 'Way' when practised in this manner. In this book, Leggett collects together translation of texts relating to this phenomenon and offers his own thoughts and observations on the subject.

Preaching is a central task in the lives of clergy, and yet it sometimes seems as though the pressure to produce, combined with other duties of parish life, becomes a burden and contributes to the busyness that squeezes out time for spiritual practices. Steeped in the Holy seeks to reclaim the spiritual foundations for preaching, inviting clergy and students to see preparation and preaching not as an intrusion, but as an opportunity to engage with God and to develop practices that deepen a relationship with God and feed preaching.

Estas a punto de embarcarte en un viaje de descubrimiento. A lo largo de estas seis nuevas sesiones, basadas en estudios impartidos por Rick Warren, vas a descubrir la respuesta a la pregunta fundamental de la vida: ' Para que estoy aqui en la tierra?'. Y esta es una pista de la respuesta: 'No se trata de ti... Fuiste creado por Dios y para Dios, y hasta que lo entiendas, tu vida no tendra ningun sentido. Solo en el encontramos nuestro origen, nuestra identidad, nuestro sentido, nuestro proposito, nuestro significado y nuestro destino. Cualquier otra ruta termina en un callejon sin salida'."

This volume is one of two edited by Andrew Rippin which are designed to complement one another, and to comprehend the principal trends in modern scholarship on the Qur'an. Both volumes are provided with a new introduction by the editor, analysing this scholarship, and providing references for further study. The Qur'an: Style and Contents reveals the variety of approaches followed within the study of the text. From NAldeke's examination of style through Arkoun's project for the future, these scholarly statements reflect the historical development of the discipline, while providing overviews of key elements for the understanding of the Qur'an.

This is a subset of F. Max Mullers great collection The Sacred Books of the East which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field.

This major work offers a historical description and systematic analysis of the root causes of this global economic crisis, which the authors understand as a crisis of western civilization. Secondly, they assume (and prove) that the religions of the Axial Age were shaped by the suffering of people, deepened by the emergence of a new economy - based on money, private property and interest. They assume that the proven convergence of the Axial Age religions in responding to the social, psychological (and already ecological) consequences of the new economy can inform, motivate and empower faith communities and their members to join hands with social movements towards a new personal and collective culture of life. In part I they show the linkage between the contexts of antiquity and modernity concerning the role of money, private property and the related structures and mentalities of greed, producing suffering, and psychological, social and ecological destruction. They show how the religions of the Axial Age responded to this context in similar ways but with interesting specific emphases. In relation to today's situation we also raise the question of psychological hindrances to change in the different social classes, affected by neoliberalism, and how to overcome them. Before drawing the conclusions for present-day alliance-building between faith communities and social movements for alternatives to neoliberal globalization in Part III they offer a fundamental critique of the ambivalence of modernity in Part II.

Storied Selves focuses on feminist Witches and their constructions of identities through the use of opposition and speculation as technologies of identity, particularly (post)colonial, maternal, and holistic identities. Through these identity formations, feminist Witches are invested in changing consciousness to create a just and sustainable world-an act which is fundamental to their practices of magic. Looking at three novels-Barbara Walker's Amazon, Cynthia Lamb's Brigid's Charge, and Starhawk's The Fifth Sacred Thing-Klassen asks three questions: how are technologies of identity deployed; where are feminist Witches most successful in promoting and/or creating models for a just and sustainable world; where and how can feminist Witches push these technologies of identity even further to create continuing oppositional and speculative identities which could lead to a just and sustainable world?

0|Muslim women in Australia are at the forefront of a culture war, and not necessarily by choice. As visible representatives of Islam, veiled women face discrimination and abuse, and carry the stigma of a culture frequently deemed unacceptable and inferior. Despite these adverse conditions, Muslim women have demonstrated a remarkable resilience by maintaining their presence in the public domain and by continuing to make a positive contribution to Australia. The experiences of Muslim women in Australia cannot be typecast as a sisterhood of oppressed females. Challenging Identities questions the assumption of incompatible 'Australian values' and 'Islamic values', and provides valuable first-person accounts from the lives of Muslim women in Australia.

This attractive FIRST MASS BOOK for boys was carefully written to enable children to take a more active part in the Mass. It features beautiful, full-color illustrations of the Mass and the Life of Christ as well as a complete Prayer Section.

Bringing together texts from a variety of sectarian traditions, this reader provides the broadest selection of primary source Hindu literature available to date. The volume is divided into two major parts. The first section presents selections that explore major themes in classical Sanskrit traditions, including those in the Vedic, Upanisadic, and Dharma literatures, as well as the classical philosophical-religious schools. The second part includes selections that highlight the sectarian and devotional movements related to major deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Sant, Tantra, and the goddess figures. In addition to a general introductory chapter on Indian literature, each major section is introduced by an essay that places the selections within the context of Hindu history. This comprehensive reader stands on its own as an indispensable anthology of original textual sources for courses in Hinduism, while also serving as a companion volume to the text The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-Historical Introduction.

Reincarnation in America: An Esoteric History surveys the complex history of reincarnation theories across multiple fields of discourse in a pre-American context, ranging from early Greek traditions to Medieval Christian theories, Renaissance esotericism, and European Kabbalah, all of which had adherents that brought those theories to America. Rebirth theories are shown in all these groups to be highly complex and often disjunctive with mainstream religions even though members of conventional religions frequently affirm the possibility of rebirth. As a history of an idea, reincarnation theory is a current, vital belief pattern that cuts across a wide spectrum of social, cultural, and scientific domains in a long, complex history not reducible to any specific religious or theoretical explanation. This book is cross-disciplinary and multicultural, linking religious studies perspectives with science based research; it draws upon many distinct disciplines and avoids reduction of reincarnation to any specific theory. The underlying thesis is to demonstrate the complexity of reincarnation theories; what is unique is the historical overview and the gradual shift away from religious theories of rebirth to new theories that are therapeutic and trans-traditional.