The position of women in Islam remains deeply contentious. While conservative elements both within Islam and among its Western critics continue to claim that Islamic law and values are fundamentally incompatible with modern notions of gender equality, since the 1980s there has been a growing body of scholarship which seeks to make the case for feminism and gender justice within a distinctly Islamic paradigm. In Islamic Feminism, Mulki Al-Sharmani examines the goals, approaches and methodologies which key scholars have adopted in their efforts at crafting an Islamic feminist discourse. Encompassing scholars from both the Islamic world and the Muslim diaspora, ranging from the pioneering scholar activist Amina Wadud to Egypt's Omaima Abou Bakr, the book also looks at how these scholars have translated their work into meaningful political action through groups such as the global Musawah movement and the Egyptian Women and Memory Forum. Crucially, Al-Sharmani also shows that Islamic feminism is a phenomenon which extends far beyond academia. Drawing on the author's own extensive research and interviews with women in Egypt, the UK, Malaysia, Finland and elsewhere, the book explores how ordinary Muslim women in both the West and the Islamic world are increasingly asserting their autonomy and challenging patriarchal interpretations of their religion, as well as exploring the linkages between Islamic feminist scholarship and the realities of these women's lived experiences. In the process, Islamic Feminism not only uncovers new directions for Islamic feminist scholarship, but upends many of our preconceptions about Islam and the role of women within it.

Happy trails to you until we meet again Having lived in the heart of the Kettle Moraine forest most of my adult life I have enjoyed riding my horse on the beautiful trails. I have sought to find answers for the disappointment and heartbreak I experienced through out so many years. If you are reading this book, you are holding in your hands the story of my life. I don't have any worldly accomplishments in front or behind my name but what I do have is the experience of wanting to be a great daughter, wife and mother. Wanting this and having this become a reality was two different things. The years spent both as a young girl and a young woman with many emotions to deal with caused me to have a very low self esteem. It was the brokenness that brought me to my knees on that cold January day.

Isaiah 61 clearly talks about God's desire for us. He has come to heal the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and to set the bound free.

We often get consumed and emotionally damaged by all of the pain that has hit our lives. We tend to run to different things to fulfill us and make us whole in God, when all we really need is God himself. God wants us to heal emotionally in him and live freely in His presence. He loves us, and desires for us to intimately know him. Come on a journey with Brittney Perillo as she unravels what healing in God can look like from many perspectives, but all yielding the same result, wholeness in Him. There will be stories of women from the Bible as well as stories from modern day women that have been hurt and lost in their own pain or pain caused by others and found healing in God.

God will change your life through this book. Seek God's face all the way to your own personal healing journey with Him.

Carolyn and her husband Herbert came from two different worlds. She from a small town in West Virginia, and he from a small village in East Prussia. They each experienced a different kind of life during World War II. Herbert escaped death by the Russians, and the only act of war Carolyn saw was selling war bonds and standing in line for nylons for her mother until the telegraph came. Carolyn's father was severely injured during a raid over Tokyo and would never be the same. Herbert's family did not know if his father was dead or alive for the three years they were in a refugee camp after fleeing from the Russians.

As a child growing up I had all the love that my parents could give, but the struggles growing up very poor led me to rebel and I began to live life on the wild side. In school there was constant pressure from all the other kids because I did not have all the luxuries that most of them took for granted. Skipping school, hitch-hiking and getting high became my way of escape from all the pressures of growing up. At the time I didn't know it, but all of this was God's plan for me to prepare me for what was ahead. There were so many times I put my life at risk just for a cheap thrill. I should not be here now to write this book. But by the grace of God, I was spared from my stupidity and given the opportunity to tell my story. The story of how God's love surpasses any and all struggles that this world can throw at you. This is the story of my LOST SOUL. I'm fifty- two years old and sick. My biggest dream has been to help impoverished and sick children and their families. My Lord put it in my heart to write this book. It took me one year to complete it. Many times I prayed to the Lord to allow me to help all the children. Now with the writing of this book, I hope that I can. My book, (really its God's book), Lost Soul describes my life long struggle to fully serve my Lord, who has always, even in the darkest days of my life, guided me to overcoming sadness and tragedy, involving my friends, relatives and myself. It took me years to grow stronger to see the joy that only Jesus can give.

Ever wondered what life is really about or why you were even born? Well . . .

Author Harvey Marshall gleaned great thoughts, ideas, and inspiration while reading the Bible, and he wanted to share what he found with others. At first, he texted the encouraging words he learned by cell phone. Then, he sent them via e-mail, and finally he created a website with which to share the good news. In "Promises to Confess to," Marshall shares these lessons, gleaned from Scripture readings, and discusses the meanings behind the encouraging words and the promises from God that are a part of the Bible's message. He follows each short inspiration with a confession or prayer that relates to the discussion. "Promises to Confess to" provides a lens through which to look at God and to appreciate the many colors that his glory has allowed to fall upon the earth.

"I recommend Dr. Kindred's book to anyone who has the desire to gain a fuller, more tangible understanding of the words of Jesus Christ. The author's very personal account of his own experiences may give others a point of reference in their own lives." -Lou Angora, Executive Producer, Morning Light Films

As I was going through a terrible trial in my life, I remembered something that my mom had said to me when I was a teenager. She said, "Read Matthew to live your life, read John to save your soul."

That turned out to be the best advice I ever got

I started talking to other people, sharing this with them, and I was amazed to find that so few knew what Jesus said. This led me to write this book to tell everyone what Christ said about how to live your life and how to save your soul. He gave us a "how to" guide. His message is clear and concise and doesn't need a lot of interpretation. He says what He means, and He means what He says. It is pure truth

Walking with Wholeness is a collection of stories that portray a child's journey into adulthood. Each story unlocks the mysterious secrets, hidden between the lines, of her very private poems, taking the reader into the depths of devastating brokenness, to the revelation of God's healing and wholeness, one courageous step at a time. Along the journey, you may personally find peace, assurance, laughter, terror, and tears, but assuredly interwoven through it all is the faithful and compassionate heart and strength of our precious Lord, Jesus Christ.

Like so many bright and beautiful baby boys, Tom Anderson was a child of great promise. Being sexually violated at a young age by an older man who presented himself as a father figure, Tom's life was dramatically changed. With divine grace, God reached into Tom's drugged and lonely life during his late teen years, and led him down a path that touched thousands of lives with the compassion and humility of Jesus Christ. As an outstanding medical doctor, Tom ministered to the sick, the elderly, and the mentally ill. In spite of his successful practice, he was haunted every day of his life by the physical, emotional, and psychological damage perpetrated against him as a child. Yet, it is not for these struggles that we remember him; but, for "His love for his family, his humble service and hospitality to his fellow man, and his commitment to God." In the end, Jesus won.

If you are one of the many Americans fascinated by the American Civil War, but feel that there is nothing new under the sun concerning that epic time, think again. In these pages you will find a wealth of stories of incredible courage, extraordinary perseverance, and heartwarming affection and humor. These stories of the personalities and events from the Civil War are carefully chosen to appeal to both the well-acquainted as well as the novice.

The book includes spiritual lessons for us today, using practical applications and insights from the Holy Scriptures, based on intriguing stories of those who lived through our nation's greatest trial.

My hope is that these stories, written in a highly readable, short-chapter devotional style, will not only provide Civil War lovers with hours of reading enjoyment but wisdom and hope in the midst of our own trials each of us face in these difficult times.